Nils de Mooij

Nils de Mooij is an expert in diplomatic training and innovation, including both institutional capacity building as well as individual coaching. He has introduced, adapted and refined different techniques and tools for effective diplomatic training at Clingendael, and shared these with partner institutes, worldwide. As a skills trainer, his current focus is on foreign policy analysis as well as international negotiations.

Nils graduated from Utrecht University with a BA in History and an MA in Conflict Studies and Human Rights (cum laude). He has a broad interest in diplomacy, international political history and contemporary international relations, with a particular focus on US multilateralism in foreign and security policy, UN reform, and democracy development support.

Starting in March 2007, Nils has built up experience in various capacities - as a training and course designer and coordinator, as a lecturer, as a skills trainer, and as a coach. As designer and coordinator, he has contributed to the development and implementation of over forty different diplomatic training programmes, working with junior, mid-career and senior level diplomatic training groups from a multitude of countries. As a lecturer, he taught on US-UN relations and international political history (2008-2011). Currently active as a skills trainer, his focus has been on foreign policy analysis and reporting (2007-present), debating skills, and international negotiations (2009-present).

Since 2013, Nils has also provided coaching and assessment for leading Dutch graduates and professionals, in particular in the annual diplomatic courses for junior-level diplomats for the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (‘het Klasje’). In this capacity, he has helped more than one hundred individuals to accurately identify and reflect on their personal learning goals, and set concrete and meaningful steps towards their professional development.