Prof. Anna Khakee obtained her first degree from Lund University, Sweden where she majored in Political Science. She went on to study for an M.A. (Diplome d'Etudes Superieures, D.E.S.) and a Ph.D. in Political Science and International Relations at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) in Geneva, Switzerland.
Prof. Khakee joined the Department of International Relations in 2011. She served as its Network on Humanitarian Action (NOHA) Director 2014-2021 and as Head of Department 2016-2020. In 2023, she was appointed European Master's in Human Rights and Democratisation (EMA) Director and in September 2025 she was elected to the EMA Executive Committee.
Prior to her appointment at the University, she worked as a Senior Researcher at IHEID in Geneva and for several years as a consultant to think tanks and international organizations, including Amnesty International, EuroMeSCo, FRIDE, Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), the Norwegian Peacebuilding Centre, The Policy Practice, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Since taking up her appointment at UM, Prof Khakee has been a guest lecturer at Central European University, the University of Göttingen, Uppsala University, University of Barcelona, Université Aix-Marseille, College of Europe, University Institute of Lisbon amongst others.
Prof Khakee has been a consultant to several Swedish parliamentary and government committees, most lately the Constitutional Committee, Swedish Parliament and the the Swedish government-appointed committee tasked with overseeing constitutional emergency provisions. For six years, she was a member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Board of Selection for the co-funding of development projects under Malta's Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds. Since 2021, she is a member of the Oversight Committee for the National Action Plan for the Implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325.
Prof. Khakee has published widely, including in international journals such as Democratization, East European Politics and Societies, International Spectator, International Studies Perspectives, Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, Journal of North African Studies, Mediterranean Politics, and the Review of International Political Economy.
