Esther Barbé is Professor of International Relations at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Prof. Barbé holds a doctorate in Political Sciences from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Her research areas focus on Spanish foreign policy, European Union foreign policy, Euro-mediterranean relations, international security, power transition and normative contestation in multilateral institutions. Her work has been published among other journals in International Affairs, European Journal of Public Policy, Cooperation and Conflict and Mediterranean Politics.

Prof. Barbé is member of the Scientific Council of the Real Instituto Elcano. She has also been a member of the Scientific Council of the European University Institute. She is a member of the International Advisory Council of various scientific journals, among them the European Journal of International Relations and the European Review of International Studies.

Since 2001, Prof. Barbé is director of the Consolidated Research Group "Observatori de Política Exterior Europea", acknowledged by the Generalitat de Catalunya (AGAUR). She has also participated as main researcher in the projects CHALLENGE (6th EU Framework Programme), EUPROX (National Plan I+D+i 2004-2007), DYNAMUS (National Plan I+D+i 2008-2011), EU-IANUS (National Plan I+D+i 2012-2015).