Dr. Claudia Major heads the security policy research group at the renowned Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) in Berlin. She researches, advises and publishes on security and defence policy issues in Germany, Europe and in the transatlantic context. Her expertise lies in particular in the field of German security and defence policy and the classification of political events with reference to NATO and the EU. Previous positions in her professional career include the Center for Security Studies at the ETH Zurich, the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), the EU Institute for Security Studies (Paris), the NATO Department of the German Foreign Office and Sciences Po Paris. Claudia is also a member of various committees, such as the Advisory Board for Civilian Crisis Prevention of the German Foreign Office and the German-British Königswinter Conference. She holds a diploma from the Free University of Berlin and Sciences Po Paris and a PhD from the University of Birmingham (UK). Claudia was made a Knight of the French Order of Merit (Chevalier dans l'ordre national du Mérite).