Robin Brooks

Visiting Fellow in Global Policy & Governance
robin.brooks@pomona.edu

United States

United States

With Pomona Since: 2026
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  • Expertise

    Expertise

    Robin S. Brooks, Ph.D. is Visiting Fellow in Global Policy and Governance at Pomona College, where she teaches on U.S. Foreign Policy and topics in International Relations and contributes to programming in current foreign affairs topics. She was previously Special Advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris on Europe, Eurasia, Multilateral Affairs and Democracy and, before that, Director for Central Europe and the Balkans at the U.S. National Security Council. She spent 21 years as a Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. Department of State, including overseas assignments at U.S. Embassies in Moscow, Belgrade, Sofia, and Ankara and at the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), as well as senior Washington positions working on Afghanistan and the United Nations.

    Dr. Brooks’ prior teaching experience includes visiting positions at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University (2024-5), Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (2015-16), and Sofia University St. St. Kiril and Metodii (2002-3 and 2019-23). She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley.

    Research Interests

    • Values and foreign policy
    • How corruption affects international security
    • Future of Transatlantic relations and alliances

    Areas of Expertise

    • U.S. foreign policy
    • Politics of Bulgaria, the Western Balkans, and Central and Eastern Europe
    • Transatlantic relations
    • Politics of Central and Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans
    • Oligarchy, corruption, and kleptocracy
    • Multilateral diplomacy, democracy/democratic backsliding, and human rights
  • Work

    Work

    Publications

    “All Politics is Local: Explaining Bulgarian Support for Ukraine in the Absence of a Government.” Forthcoming chapter in a volume edited by Mietek Boduszynski and Jasmin Mujanovic, DeGruyter Press.

    “Does Diversity Hurt Democracy,” co-authored with M. Steven Fish. Journal of Democracy. January 2004

    “Step-Mother Tongue: Language and Ethnicity Among Bulgarian Pomaks.” Berkeley Journal of Sociology. 2002.

    “Globalization, Terror, and Changing American Foreign Policy,” (in Bulgarian). Literaturen Forum. October, 2001.

    “Bulgarian Democracy’s Institutional Weapon,” co-authored with M. Steven Fish. East European Constitutional Review.Summer 2000.

    “Cross-Dressing in Bulgaria: Gay Identity, Post-Communist Fear, and Magical Love.” Bad Subjects: Political Education for Everyday Life. Summer 2000

    “Ethnicity and Class in Bulgaria.” Peace Review. February 1999.

    Podcasts and Media Interviews

    Detektor.ba, “From Laundry and Lunches in RS to Trump's Associates: How Millions of Bosnian Citizens' Money was Spent on Lobbying in the US.” June 30, 2026.

    PBS Newshour, “A look at the Albanian Island Where a Kushner-Trump Resort Plan Has Sparked Protests." June 11, 2026.

    Balkanomnicon, “On 20 Years in the Foreign Service: Conversation with Robin Brooks.” May 8, 2026.

    Radio Kosovo, “Brooks: The Bureaucracy of the Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue Prevents Creative Solutions.” April 6, 2026.

    The Andrea Mitchell Center Podcast, "The Erosion of Democracy: Dr. Robin S. Brooks on Democratic Backsliding.” April 2024

    Conferences and Invited Lectures

    "The Future of Democracy” (keynote address) and “Values and the Future of Transatlantic Relations” (panelist). LSE IDEAS Forum and The Raitu Forum Dialogues on Democracy, Sept. 6-8, 2026, Turda, Romania.

    “Transatlantic Uncertainty and the Future of Ukraine” (lecture). Fletcher Russia and Eurasia Program, Tufts University.

    “War in Ukraine: The Battleground for the Future of Europe” (panelist). Chatham House, London, England. November 11, 2025.

    “From Protege to Partner: The Way Forward for U.S.-Kosovo Relations” (discussant for a panel with Mietek Boduszynski, Victor Peskin, and Amb. Jeffrey Hovenier). New Lines Institute for Policy and Strategy, Washington, DC. October 1, 2025.

    “Invisible Hands: Unmasking Foreign Interference in the Western Balkans” (panelist). Sarajevo Security Conference. September 26, 2025, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

    “Women Belong in Foreign Policy” (keynote address). Middlesex County District Attorney’s Annual Empowering Girls conference. May 2025, Lexington, MA.

    “Authoritarian Influence and Local Enablers in the Balkans” (discussant for a presentation by Donika Emini). National Endowment for Democracy, June 20, 2024, Washington, DC.

    "Dealing with Democratic Backsliding on Europe’s Eastern Flank.” Presented at the University of Richmond (April 2024), University of Pennsylvania (March 2024), and Scripps College/EU Center of California (November 2023).

    “Reactors, Russia Centrism, and U.S. Relations with Eastern Europe.” Presented to the Association for the Study of Nationalities annual conference 2016 and at Ohio State University and the University of Florida in 2017.

  • Education

    Education

    M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science
    University of California, Berkeley

    A.B. cum laude in Government
    Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts

    Languages: Bulgarian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Turkish, German

    Professional Experience

    • Special Advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris on Europe and Eurasia, Multilateral Affairs, and Democracy
    • U.S. National Security Council Director for Germany, Central Europe and the Western Balkans
    • Member of the International Advisory Board, Belgrade Center for Security Policy
    • Director, Office of Multilateral Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, U.S. Department of State
    • Acting Political Counselor, U.S. Embassy Belgrade, Serbia
    • Chief of Staff, Office of the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
    • Deputy Political Counselor, U.S. Embassy Sofia, Bulgaria
    • First Secretary, U.S. Embassy Moscow, Russia
    • Vice Consul and Refugee Resettlement Officer, U.S. Embassy Ankara, Turkey
    • Human Dimension Officer, U.S. Mission to the OSCE
    • State Department Equal Employment Opportunity Counselor
  • Awards & Honors

    Awards & Honors

    • Career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Counselor
    • Recipient of the National Security Advisor’s “Game Ball” award for work to secure Central European contributions to international military and humanitarian support for Ukraine after Russia’s brutal reinvasion in 2022.
    • Recipient of eight State Department Superior Honor Awards
    • Fulbright, IREX, and ACLS Fellowships for research in Bulgaria
    • Civic Education Project Visiting Faculty Fellowship in Bulgaria
    • Boren National Security Education Program Fellowship for research in Bulgaria and Turkey

Mailing Address

333 N. College Way
Claremont, CA 91711

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