María Santillán is a Research Fellow at the Elcano Royal Institute and the Institute’s contact point in the European Think Tanks Group (ETTG), as well as a PhD candidate in Economics at the Complutense University of Madrid. Her academic background comprises a BSc in Politics and International Relations from the University of Exeter, and an MSc in Public Policy and Human Development with a Social Protection Policy specialization from the United Nations University-MERIT and Maastricht University.
Her work focuses on Spanish and European development cooperation policy and their evolving narratives, the global development agenda and multilateralism, and the political economy of the financing for development agenda.
Some of her recent publications include “The evolving narratives surrounding aid” (with Iliana Olivié, Elcano Royal Institute, 2026), “What does Sevilla mean for the development finance agenda?” (with Iliana Olivié, Kathrin Berensmann, Damien Barchiche, Karim Karaki, Ben Katoka, Niels Keijzer, Christian von Haldenwang and Yabibal Walle, ETTG, 2025), “Academic debate and self-criticism: Embracing diversity at the core of Development Studies” (with Iliana Olivié and Antonio Sianes, European Journal of Development Research, 2025) or “Un sistema en evolución: la cooperación multilateral y la agenda de financiación del Desarrollo” (Elcano Royal Institute, 2025).
She previously also worked as a Research Executive in the Public Division of Kantar UK and as a Research Analyst at TotalAnalysis.