Leonardo Bandarra is a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF) at University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. He is also a director at the Middle East Treaty Organization (METO). His work focuses on  nuclear verification, trust and distrust in global politics, and the role of regional approaches, particularly from the Global South, in security governance. Leonardo holds a PhD in Social Sciences from the University of Goettingen (summa cum laude) together with the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), both in Germany, a Master’s and BA (Hons) in International Relations from the University of Brasilia, Brazil, and a University Diploma in International Nuclear Law from the University of Montpellier, France, with the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency. He was also a visiting lecturer at the OSCE Academy in Kyrgyzstan (2024) and a member of the Harvard-McArthur Research Network on Rethinking Nuclear Deterrence  (2023-2024).