Federico Steinberg

Federico Steinberg is Prince of Asturias Distinguished Visiting Professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and Senior Fellow at the Elcano Royal Institute.

He is Lecturer in Political Economy at Madrid’s Universidad Autónoma (on leave) and visiting fellow with the Europe, Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Between 2019 and 2024, he served as Special Adviser to the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell. He is also a member of the Advisory Council of the Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Business of the Government of Spain. He has worked as a consultant for the World Bank in Washington D.C., Ghana, and Bolivia, as well as at the Executive Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in New York. He has taught and lectured in various postgraduate programmes in Europe and Latin America.

He has published articles in journals such as the Journal of Common Market Studies, Review of International Political Economy, New Political Economy, and Economic Systems Research. He is also a regular columnist in several Spanish media outlets and frequently appears on radio and television.

He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Autonomous University of Madrid, an MSc in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics, and a master’s in international Affairs from Columbia University (New York).

Research areas

An expert in international political economy, he has a strong background and interest in international trade, finance, development, and the European economic and monetary union. In recent years, he has focused on the new dynamics in international trade and the rise of protectionism, transatlantic relations, European integration, economic security, various aspects of global economic governance, and the backlash against globalization.

Selected publications

‘A globalisation challenge: preventing a clash between the middle classes of the developed and emerging economies’ (with A. Ortega & M. Otero-Iglesias, Economics, 2018); ‘The Spanish financial crisis. Lessons for the European banking union’ (with S. Royo & M. Otero-Iglesias, Informe Elcano, nr 20); ‘How to fix the euro’ (with S. Pickford & M. Otero-Iglesias, Chatham House, 2014); ‘Towards a Germanized eurozone? Germany’s trilemma and the EMU regime after the crisis’ (wth M. Vermeiren, Journal of Common Market Studies, 2015); ‘Is the dollar becoming a negotiated currency? Evidence from the emerging markets’ (with M. Otero-Iglesias, New Political Economy, 2013); and ‘Reframing the euro vs. dollar debate through the perceptions of financial elites in key dollar-holding countries’ (with M. Otero-Iglesias, Review of International Political Economy, 2013).