Roland Bleiker grew up in Zürich, Switzerland, where he was educated and worked as a lawyer.

He then studied international relations in Paris, Toronto, Vancouver and finally in Canberra, where he obtained his Ph.D. from the Australian National University.Bleiker also worked for two years in a Swiss diplomatic mission in Panmunjom, the Korean DMZ.

He is currently finishing a book on Aesthetics and World Politics and is conceptualizing a new project that examines the emotional dimensions of security threats, such as terrorism and health, through a range of aesthetic sources, including literature, visual art and photography.