Alexander "Alex" Rondeli ( ka, ალექსანდრე რონდელი; 7 January 1942 – 12 June 2015) was a
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
political scientist and one of the country's leading specialists in international affairs
who founded and led the
think-tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental org ...
from 1998 until his death in 2015.
Rondeli was born in 1942. He graduated from the Faculty of Oriental Studies at
Tbilisi State University
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი ''Ivane Javaxishvi ...
and obtained a
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
in 1974. He went on an exchange program to the
as a research fellow from 1976 to 1977. He was also a mid-career fellow at the
Woodrow Wilson School
The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of comprehensive course ...
,
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
(1993–94), a
visiting professor at
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...
(1991),
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States.
...
(1995), and
Williams College
Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...
(1992, 1995, and
1997). He chaired the Department of International Relations at Tbilisi State University from 1991 to 1996 and directed Foreign
Policy Research and Analysis Center at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia
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, type=Ministry
, seal= Seal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.png
, seal_width =
, seal_caption = Logo of the Georgian MFA
, image = Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.png
, image_size= ...
from 1997 to 2001. He held a diplomatic rank of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary. In 1998 he became a founding member and president of an independent, non-profit policy think-tank, the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, which has a declared aim of "helping improve public policy decision-making in Georgia through research and analysis, training of policymakers and policy analysts, and public education about the strategic issues". Rondeli was a frequent commentator on the politics and international relations of Georgia and authored many books, articles, and op-eds. two books, ''International Relations'' and ''The Small State in the International System'', both in Georgian, are standard texts in Georgian higher education.
He was an advocate of Georgia's Euro-Atlantic orientation, which he saw as the only option for the country to become a viable democracy.
He died in 2015, aged 73.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rondeli, Alexander
1942 births
2015 deaths
Political scientists from Georgia (country)
Tbilisi State University alumni
Academic staff of Tbilisi State University
Alumni of the London School of Economics
Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni