Lucie Calléja holds a PhD in International Relations, Security and Defence from the Institute for Political Studies of Universidade Católica Portuguesa (IEP-UCP) and is a researcher at its Research Centre (CIEP), where she is a member of the Research Line on Peace and Civil Society (LIPS).

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences from Université Lumière Lyon II (France) and a Master’s degree in Governance, Leadership and Democracy Studies from Universidade Católica Portuguesa. Her research focuses on peace and conflict studies, with particular emphasis on civil society and women’s participation, especially in the African context.

Since March 2025, she has been a postdoctoral researcher in Integral Human Development at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, where she is conducting research on the role of women as peacebuilders in sensitive and violence-affected contexts in Portugal.

In parallel, she works as a consultant for international non-governmental organisations in the field of human rights.

Research Areas

Peace and conflict studies: peacebuilding processes, dynamics of violence and conflict resolution, mediation and negotiation;

Civil society in conflict and post-conflict contexts: social movements and activism;

Women, Peace and Security: women’s participation in peace processes, women as agents of change, implementation of the UN agenda;

African studies: society, conflicts and development;

International organisations and security: the role of international organisations in global peace and security, international cooperation, peace missions and crisis management.