Martins, Maria

Maria Martins holds a bachelor’s degree in European Studies from the University of Coimbra, in Portugal, and a master's degree in European Studies: Transnational and Global Perspectives from KULeuven, in Belgium, where she graduated magna cum laude. In her master's thesis she analysed how the potential divergence of conceptualisation of human rights in Latin America vis-à-vis in the European Union impacts the interregional cooperation in the protection and promotion human rights, namely indigenous rights.

In Leuven, Maria interned at the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies. As a research assistant of Dr. Gustavo Muller, she conducted autonomous research on European and Latin American regionalism and its bi-regional cooperation, worked in ENGAGE, a multi-national consortium on EU foreign policy and strategy, and helped organise a high-level international academic conference of the PAES (Platform for African and European Studies) network. Her main research lines include comparative regionalism, post-colonial relations between Europe and Latin America and the impact on today’s strategic partnership, EU-Latin America parliamentary cooperation, regional and interregional environmental governance of the Amazon rainforest and paradiplomacy. 

During her six-month internship she contributed to the work of the Regions and Cities Governance Lab under the supervision of Frank Mattheis, where she focussed namely on post-colonial perspectives of the EU – LAC strategic partnership in the cooperation of human rights and in the EU - LAC environmental governance of the Amazon rainforest.