Athanasios Hristoulas is both a professor and researcher of International Relations at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) since 1996. He is also the coordinator of the diploma course "National Security" at the same institute. He received his Ph.D. degree from McGill University in 1996. Before relocating to Mexico he was the “Military and Strategic Post-Doctoral Fellow” at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University.

He is a founding member of the Mexican think-tank CASEDE (Colectivo de Análisis de la Seguridad con Democracia A.C.). He is regularly invited by the Mexican Senate, Mexican Navy, Mexican Army, and Mexican intelligence service to consult and to give talks.

He has published extensively on security issues mainly in North America. He has also published on civil-military relations. Recently, his research has focused on the security sector reform in Mexico, specifically on how to make Mexico's security services and agencies more efficient in their task and, at the same time, on how to make these institutions respect basic principles of democracy. He is a member of the National System of Researchers level II. He also has a column in Este Pais magazine titled "El Perímetro de Seguridad".