Born in
Lisbon,
Portugal, and with parents from the municipality of
Proença-a-Nova, it was in the city of
Castelo Branco that Tavares spent his youth, having completed secondary education at Escola Secundária Nuno Álvares. After graduating in
International Relations at
NOVA University Lisbon, he completed his PhD in Peace and Development Studies in 2006 at the
University of Gothenburg, School of Global Studies. He was the first Portuguese person to obtain a doctorate in Peace and Conflict Studies. His thesis
Understanding Regional Peace and Security: A New Framework for Analysis was supervised by Professor Emeritus Björn Hettne and Associate Professor Fredrik Söderbaum. Tavares discovered Björn Hettne's academic work as an undergraduate student and traveled to
Sweden to meet him in person and persuade him to be his doctoral supervisor. While working on his thesis and after publishing his first scientific articles, Tavares was invited to the
University of California at Berkeley as a visiting scholar in the Department of International and Area Studies. He lived in
California in 2003 and 2004. In 2010, Tavares returned to the
United States to carry out post-doctoral research at
Columbia University, at the
School of International and Public Affairs, under the supervision of professor emeritus of economics
Albert Fishlow and with a post-doctoral fellowship granted by the
Foundation for Science and Technology. He wrote the book
Security in South America during this period (Lynne Rienner, 2014). In 2024 Nova SBE's Master's in Finance has been ranked 7th worldwide by the Financial Times. Rodrigo Tavares' academic work has focused on finding innovative solutions in the fields of
international relations,
finance, and
sustainable development. In particular, his publications are focused on exploring new forms of political, economic, and financial governance. He began his career evaluating the social, economic, and security impacts of
regional integration and supranational organizations. Subsequently, his research focused on local governments (cities, states, and provinces) and their ability to become global actors, known as
paradiplomacy. Currently, Tavares studies the connections between the financial market, society, and the environment. He has been described as "one of those rare diplomacy experts who combine the scientific rigor of an academic with the serious experience of a foreign policy professional" and as "one of the world's leading experts in sustainable finance" (
Grupo Globo). His most recognized publications are:
Books •
A Palavra e o Poder: Uma Travessia Crítica por 40 Anos de Democracia Brasileira (Civilização Brasileira, Record, 2025), with Flavia Lima e Naief Haddad [Word and Power: A Critical Journey Through Forty Years of Brazilian Democracy — original in Portuguese] •
Paradiplomacy: Cities and States as Global Players (
Oxford University Press, 2016) •
Security in South America (
Lynne Rienner, 2014) •
Regional Organizations in African Security (
Routledge, 2011, with Fredrik Söderbaum) •
Regional Security (
Routledge, 2010)
Peer-reviewed articles •
ESG-Financial Performance in the Gulf Region: A Bidirectional Examination in Sustainable Communities, 2025, Vol. 2 (1) (with Stefanescu-Cuntze, C., & Sá, C.) •
ESG Factors and Risk-Adjusted Performance: a New Quantitative Model in Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 2016, Vol. 6 (4), p. 292-300 (with N. C. Ashwin Kumar, Camille Smith, Leïla Badis, Nan Wang, and Paz Ambrosy) •
Foreign Policy Goes Local in Foreign Affairs, October 2013 •
Resolving the Kashmir Conflict: India, Pakistan, Kashmiris and Religious Militants in Asian Journal of Political Science, 2008, Vol. 16 (3), p. 276-302 (first peace proposal for Kashmir published in an indexed academic journal) •
The Participation of SADC and ECOWAS in Military Operations: The Weight of National Interests in Decision-Making in African Studies Review, 2011, 54 (2), p.145-176 == Granito Group ==