Isabelle Maras is an expert of the foreign policy of the European Union and on European security and defence issues.
She successively studied political sciences, international relations and European politics in Lyon, Francfort/Main and Brussels. She graduated with a M.A. in European Politics and a M.A. in Political Science from the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). Isabelle Maras has gained extensive experience in the area of European affairs in Brussels from 2004 onwards (European Commission, lobbying and consultancy sectors, European projects) as well as in the academia (with a focus on EU civilian crisis management) at the ULB and then at the Institut für Friedensforschung und Sicherheitspolitik (IFSH) affiliated to the University of Hamburg since 2007.
From 2013 until 2016, she was project leader at the Foundation Genshagen as a technical expert of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Within the department „European Dialog“, she conducted and supervised French-German and European projects and events and provided her expertise on Franco-German relations and on European politics in front of various audiences.
She is an Alumna of the European Security and Defence College and of the French-German Dialog for the Future (DGAP/IFRI, Foundation Robert Bosch). She is furthermore actively involved within the community of the French living abroad.

Publications (selected):

 MARAS, Isabelle (2016) : “Le Triangle de Weimar avant le sommet de l’OTAN de Varsovie”, CIFE Policy paper n°39, Centre international de formation européenne – CIFE, 4 July 2016
 Maras, Isabelle (2015): “France, Germany, Poland: Going beyond the symbolic to realize potential”, in: Demesmay, Claire, Stark, Hans, Opening up the Franco-German Dialogue. How Trialogues Can Enhance European Integration, DGAPanalyse 6, 9 June 2015
 Maras, Isabelle (2011) (with Laura Salich): “Ten Years after UN Resolution 1325, A Neat revolution in Search of Warriors”, Opinion piece, Atlantic-community.org, 26 April 2011
 Maras Isabelle (2010): “Governing the police reform carried out under ESDP auspices: The case of the Democratic Republic of Congo”, in: Ehrhart, Hans-Georg/Kahl Martin (Hrsg.), EU Security Governance: Konzeptionelle und praktische Herausforderungen, Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlag
 Maras, Isabelle (2010) (with Sybille Reinke de Buitrago): “Les interventions de la Bundeswehr au miroir de la classe politique et des opinions publiques en Allemagne et en France”, in: Allemagne d’aujourd’hui, “Sortie de la singularité – Retour à la normalité”, Special issue “Politiques et interventions militaires extérieures de l’Allemagne depuis 1990”, No. 192, April-June 2010
 Maras, Isabelle (2009): “Exploring European Union-assisted Police Reform in Bosnia-Herzegovina. A preliminary assessment of the European Union Police Mission to date”, paper presented at the 50th Annual Convention of the International Studies Association (ISA), 15-18 February 2009, New York City (United States)
 Maras, Isabelle (2008) (with Michael Brzoska): “Säulenübergreifende Zusammenarbeit von Rat und Kommission der Europäischen Union zur Unterstützung von Reformen im Bereich der Sicherheitssektorreform”, short paper, BICC (Bonn International Centre for Conversion)

Moderation (selected)

 Conference “French-German Town Hall Meeting”, European dialogue process “Dialogue on Europe” with Michael Roth, German Minister of State for Europe, Progressives Zentrum, Berlin, with the German Federal Foreign Office, Marseille (France), 26 May 2016
 Panel discussion “Entre terreur et guerre – La sécurité européenne après le 13 novembre 2015” with Maxime Lefebvre (French Ministry for Foreign Affairs) and Michael Georg Link (ODHIR Office in Warsaw/OSCE), VIème Forum de Genshagen pour le dialogue franco-allemand “La politique de sécurité européenne à la hauteur des défis du futur ? Jalons pour les 20 prochaines années”, Foundation Genshagen, 26-27 November 2015
 Panel discussion “Moldova before the elections: crucial test for democracy and the Eastern Partnership”, with Dr. Markus Ingenlath, Secretary-General of the Franco-German Office for Youth and the Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova in Germany Aureliu Ciocoi, trilateral youth program “Facing Antagonisms in Europe. Chances for a common approach? Perspectives from France, Moldova and Germany”, OFAJ/DFJW, CIFE and Europa Zentrum Baden-Württemberg, JEF-Moldova, Berlin, 27 November 2014
 Workshop discussion „L’impact des révolutions arabes en Afrique subsaharienne et le rôle de l’Union européenne”, IVème Forum de Genshagen pour le dialogue franco-allemand “L’Union européenne et la Méditerranée : quelles attentes réciproques, quelles perspectives communes ?”, Foundation Genshagen, 21-22 November 2013
 Roundtable „Revolutionen in der arabischen Welt. Herausforderungen und Chancen für Europa“, jointly organised by the Katholische Friedenstiftung and the Bank Vontobel Europa AG, Hamburg, 9 May 2012