With changes in the European Union, uncertainties in the Atlantic Alliance, opportunities and threats in the eastern Mediterranean, and instability in the Middle East, Greece faces a challenging external environment. How should it respond? How could it best promote its interests and overcome constraints? What could its partners expect from Greece? What did Greece require of them? Professor Kevin Featherstone was in conversation with Nikos Dendias, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic, to explore Greece’s strategy in this new and complex phase of foreign policy.

Nikos Dendias (@NikosDendias) was born in Corfu. He is a graduate of the Athens College and of the Athens University Law School (with honors). He holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of London, specialising in Maritime and Insurance Law (University College - UCL) and Criminology (London School of Economics - LSE). He is a Supreme Court lawyer. From March 2004 to December 2015 he was MP for Corfu with Nea Dimokratia. In January 2015 he was elected MP for Athens 2nd District. He has served as Minister of National Defense (Nov 2014- Jan 2015), Minister of Development and Competitiveness (June 2014-Nov 2014), Minister of Public Order and Citizen Protection (June 2012 - June 2014), as well as Minister of Justice (January 2009 - Oct 2009). After the 2019 elections, he has been appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic.

Kevin Featherstone is Eleftherios Venizelos Professor in Contemporary Greek Studies and Professor in European Politics in the European Institute at LSE, where he is also Director of the Hellenic Observatory. He has held visiting positions at the University of Minnesota; New York University; Harvard University; and, the European University Institute (Firenze). Before LSE, he held academic posts at the Universities of Stirling and Bradford. He was the first foreign member of the National Council for Research and Technology (ESET) in Greece, serving from 2010-2013. In 2013 he was made ‘Commander: Order of the Phoenix’ by the President of the Hellenic Republic. In 2014, the European Parliament selected one of his books (co-authored with Kenneth Dyson) as one of its ‘100 Books on Europe to Remember’. He has contributed regularly to international media on European and Greek politics.

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The Hellenic Observatory (@HO_LSE) is internationally recognised as one of the premier research centres on contemporary Greece and Cyprus. It engages in a range of activities, including developing and supporting academic and policy-related research; organisation of conferences, seminars and workshops; academic exchange through visiting fellowships and internships; as well as teaching at the graduate level through LSE's European Institute.