Joseph MAÏLA was a member of the ESSEC/IRENÉ (Institut de Recherche et de d’Enseignement sur la Négociation), director of the Mediation Programme, and a professor of geopolitics, mediation and international relations at ESSEC Business School.
Joseph MAÏLA was director of the Direction de la Prospective (Policy Planning Directorate) at the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (Quai d’Orsay) until December 2012, and previously head of the Religious Affairs Department (Pôle Religions) in the same Directorate. Graduated in Law, Political Science and Philosophy, he holds a PhD in Philosophy and a PhD in Sociology. He also graduated, the valedictorian of the 1972’ promotion in International relations, from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques of Paris (Sciences Po). He was elected dean of the Faculté des Sciences Sociales et Économiques, before being the president of the Université Catholique de Paris. Visiting professor and researcher in different foreign, European, North American and Arab universities, he has also developed consultant and expert activities in the field of international relations and mediation.
He was member of the White Paper Commission on Foreign and European policy of France (2008), and was also named member of the White Paper of the French Commission on Defense and National Security (September 2012 - March 2013).
He is an expert on interreligious dialogue and mediation; he participated at the First Forum of Catholic-Muslim Dialogue, held at the State of the Vatican, in November 2008. In December 2014, he participated at the Third Islam-Catholique Summit hosted by the Holy See.
In 2013, he run for the office of Director General of UNESCO.
Joseph Maila is member of the Strategic Council of IFRI.
Joseph Maïla created in 1997 the Institut de Formation à la Médiation et à la Négociation (IFOMENE) and was its Director until 2004. He was a member of l’Association des Médiateurs Européens (AME) at the Paris Bar. He is a member of the editorial board of Etudes and was on the board of Esprit. He was the co-founder of Les Cahiers de l’Orient (1986) and chief editor until 1992.
He has many research studies and publications in Philosophy, conflict resolutions, international relations and Islam. On Islam he published Hegel et l’islam, in Annales de philosophie, Université Saint Joseph, Beirut, Lebanon, 1982 and « L’islam au XXème siècle: du réformisme à l’islamisme », in Encyclopédie des Religions, Lenoir et Masquelier (dir.), Bayard, 1999. On conflict settlements The Taëf Agreement: A Commentary, St Anthony College, Oxford. 1992. Le conflit israélo-arabe, en collaboration avec Daniel Lindenberg, Desclée de Brouwer, 2001. De Manhattan à Bagdad. Au delà du Bien et du Mal, avec Mohammed Arkoun, Desclée de Brouwer, 2003. His recent publications, mostly on conflicts and international mediation, include as a co-editor: Médiation et facilitation dans l’espace francophone, Bruylant, Bruxelles, 2010, 911p; Démocratie et élections dans l’espace francophone, Bruylant, Bruxelles, 2010, 935p; Déterminants des conflits et nouvelles formes de prévention, Bruylant, Bruxelles, 2013, 1095p; De Dakar à Dakar. 25 ans de Francophonie politique, Bruylant, Bruxelles, 2014, 505p.