Boston College, Professor, International Studies Program; and The Atlantic Council, Eurasia Center
Non-Resident Senior Fellow
Moderator
Dr. Elizabeth Prodromou Kyrou is a Professor in the International Studies Program at Boston College and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. Prodromou was a diplomat on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (2004-2012) and served as a member of the U.S. Secretary of State’s Religion & Foreign Policy Working Group (2011-2015). She advises international organizations and institutions such as the European External Action Service and the International Negotiators Working Group, on religious literacy, security, and human rights, and she directs leadership training programs for faith-based institutions. Her academic research concentrates on the intersection of geopolitics, religion, and human rights. Widely published in academic and policy journals, such as Journal of Democracy, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Orbis, and many others, she is on the editorial board of the Review of Faith & International Affairs, and she co-chairs the International Relations section of the International Orthodox Theological Association. Prodromou is an internationally recognized expert on global Orthodox Christianity; some of her recent publications include “Diplomacy, Geopolitics, and Global Orthodox Christianity,” and “Influence Operations in Greece’s Religious Ecosystem” in Kremlin Playbook 3, and “Turkey’s Cultural Heritage Cudgel.” She was a delegate consultant of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the Holy and Great Council at Crete in 2016. Prodromou is a frequent commentator in US and international media, and has offered expert testimony and briefings to policymaking bodies such as the US Helsinki Commission, the European Parliament, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Her policy-practitioner work includes the University of Notre Dame Law School’s Religious Liberty Initiative (Advisory Board), Religions for Peace (Co-President), St. Phoebe’s Center for the Deaconess, the Freedom of Religion or Belief Women’s Alliance (Alliance Advisor), and the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Task Force on Modern Slavery. Prodromou has taught at The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts University, where she was founding faculty director of the Initiative on Religion, Law, and Diplomacy; at Boston University and Princeton University; and, as an invited flying faculty member at the College of Europe (Natolin). She holds a Ph.D. and an S.M. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), an M.A.L.D. from The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and a B.A. in history and international relations from Tufts University. She is a member of the Phi Bet Kappa Society and she holds a Distinguished Service Award from the Tufts University Alumni Association. She is married to Dr. Alexandros Kyrou, and they are joyful parents to their daughter Sophia.
