Prof Dr Masala studied political science, German and Romance philology from 1988 to 1992. He received his doctorate in 1996 and his habilitation in 2002. After a temporary professorship at the LMU Munich in 2003, he moved to the NATO Defence College in Rome in 2004, where he was Deputy Director from 2006. He has been Professor of International Politics at the University of the Federal Armed Forces Munich since July 2007 and Director of the Center for Intelligence and Security Studies (CISS) since January 2024. He is co-editor of the Journal of International Relations and SIRIUS and a member of several academic committees. He has published numerous books, most recently When Russia Wins (2025). He was awarded the Lichtenberg Medal in Gold and the Rohde Prize in 2023 for his research and science communication. Since 2018, he has co-hosted the podcast Sicherheitshalber.