Dr. Leonardo Bandarra is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany,  working on nuclear verification, arms control, deterrence, disarmament, non-proliferation, trust, and perspectives from the Global South as part of ‘VeSPoTec: Nuclear Verification in a Complex and Unpredictable world: Social, Political, and Technological Processes”, funded by the German Ministry of Science and Education. He is also a director at the Middle East Treaty Organization (METO). 

Leonardo holds a PhD in Social Sciences from the University of Goettingen 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).

His work has been published in various academic journals, including Cold War History, Critical Studies on Security, Journal of Peace and Nuclear Disarmament, Conjuntura Austral, Zeitschrift für Friedens- und Konfliktforschung, Revista Brasileira de Relações Internacionais. He is also author of the book “Nuclear Latency and the Participation Puzzle Construting of the International Non-Proliferation Regime”, published in 2024 by Palgrave MacMillan & Springer.