Dr. Lucia Frigo is a postdoctoral researcher in Intelligence and Security at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) at Leiden University. Her research focuses on intelligence reforms in Europe, oversight and accountability, and international intelligence cooperation. Beyond intelligence, Lucia’s interests in European security include sanctions, national security strategies, and UK-EU security cooperation. Before joining Leiden University, Lucia was a Teaching Fellow in Politics and International Relations at Royal Holloway, University of London. Lucia is an interdisciplinary scholar, sitting at the intersection of International Security and Law. She holds a PhD from Royal Holloway, University of London, and a Law degree from the University of Trento.

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Dr. Lucia Frigo is a postdoctoral researcher in Intelligence and Security at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) at Leiden University. She is a researcher of European security and intelligence, with a particular focus on the EU’s foreign and security policy. Her research project comparatively explores how countries in Europe are reforming their intelligence apparatuses to respond to hybrid threats and a changing security landscape. In doing so, the project aims at providing an understanding both of how the organisations are adapting to the reforms and how these reforms affect the legality and accountability of the intelligence services.

In her doctoral research, Lucia explored intelligence cooperation between the EU and the UK to understand how the relationship changed through Brexit and then in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine. This led to a study of trust in long-standing intelligence-sharing relations, and the role it plays in how the parties respond to change. Beyond the study of intelligence, Lucia continues to work on matters of European security writ large, including sanctions, national security perceptions, and European defence industry cooperation. As the co-convenor of the European Security Working Group in the British International Studies Association (BISA), Lucia uses her network to support early career scholars and bring new voices to the discussion around contemporary European security.

Lucia’s research has been published in leading academic journals such as International Affairs, Intelligence and National Security, and the International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. She also strives to contribute to the public debate and to offer recommendations and insight to practitioners and policymakers. Her research has featured in Italian and British news media, and her previous work on Brexit’s effects on UK-EU security cooperation received an award by the Italian Intelligence Services.

Lucia is an interdisciplinary scholar, sitting at the crossroads of International Relations, Intelligence Studies and Law. A legal scholar by training, Lucia studied Law with security studies between Italy, Canada and the United Kingdom, before pursuing a PhD in IR at Royal Holloway, University of London.

At Leiden University, Lucia supports the teaching of the MSc in Crisis and Security Management and the BSc in Security Studies, including the Minor in Intelligence Studies.