Michael Doran

Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East

michael_doran

At A Glance:

Michael Doran is a senior fellow and director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East at 华体会. He specializes in Middle East security issues.

Researcher
Zineb Riboua
Research Fellow and Program Manager, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East

Biography

Michael Doran is a senior fellow and director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East at 华体会. He specializes in Middle East security issues and co-hosts the podcast.

In the administration of President George W. Bush, Doran served in the White House as a senior director in the National Security Council, where he was responsible for helping to devise and coordinate United States strategies on a variety of Middle East issues, including Arab-Israeli relations and US efforts to contain Iran and Syria. He also served in the Bush administration as a senior advisor in the State Department and a deputy assistant secretary of defense in the Pentagon.

Born in Kokomo, Indiana, Doran went to elementary school in Carmel, outside of Indianapolis, before his family moved to Fullerton, California, where he graduated from Sunny Hills High School. He received a BA from Stanford University and an MA and PhD in Near Eastern studies from Princeton University.

Before coming to Hudson, Doran was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He has also held teaching positions at New York University, Princeton University, and the University of Central Florida. His latest book, , was published by Free Press in 2016. He appears frequently on television, and has published extensively in Foreign Affairs, the American Interest, Commentary, Mosaic, the Wall Street Journal,  the Washington Post, and the New York Times.

Events
16
April 2025
Past Event
The View from Riyadh
Featured Speakers:
Bernard Haykel
Michael Doran
Getty Images
16
April 2025
Past Event
The View from Riyadh

Join Senior Fellow Michael Doran, director of Hudson鈥檚 Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, for an event with Bernard Haykel, a new Hudson senior fellow and a leading authority on Saudi Arabia鈥檚 political, societal, and religious landscape.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Bernard Haykel
Michael Doran
20
March 2025
Past Event
Syria: What鈥檚 Next?
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Can Kasapo臒lu
Moderator:
Zineb Riboua
Getty Images
20
March 2025
Past Event
Syria: What鈥檚 Next?

Senior Fellows Michael Doran and Can Kasapo臒lu will discuss the evolving situation, what is next for Syria, and the future of US foreign policy in the region with Research Fellow Zineb Riboua.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Can Kasapo臒lu
Moderator:
Zineb Riboua
03
March 2025
Past Event
Reshaping the Middle East: A Conversation with Amjad Taha
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Amjad Taha
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: (L-R) Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Affairs Minister of the United Arab Emirates Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Foreign Affairs Minister of Bahrain Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani attend the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords, at the White House on September 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chen Mengtong/China News Service via Getty Images)
03
March 2025
Past Event
Reshaping the Middle East: A Conversation with Amjad Taha

Michael Doran, the director of Hudson鈥檚 Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, will join Amjad Taha, a UAE-based political strategist and analyst, to examine the evolving strategic landscape and the prospects for broader Arab-Israeli normalization amid shifting regional dynamics.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: (L-R) Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Affairs Minister of the United Arab Emirates Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Foreign Affairs Minister of Bahrain Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani attend the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords, at the White House on September 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chen Mengtong/China News Service via Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Amjad Taha
19
February 2025
Past Event
Knesset Member Amit Halevi on What Lies Ahead for Israel
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Amit Halevi
An Israeli army vehicle passes by an Israeli tractor working along the border with the Gaza Strip on January 16, 2025, in Israel. (Amir Levy via Getty Images)
19
February 2025
Past Event
Knesset Member Amit Halevi on What Lies Ahead for Israel

Michael Doran will sit down with Member of the Israeli Knesset Amit Halevi for a conversation on these issues.

An Israeli army vehicle passes by an Israeli tractor working along the border with the Gaza Strip on January 16, 2025, in Israel. (Amir Levy via Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Amit Halevi
A soldier walks with a rose near photos of people killed during Hamas's attack on the Nova festival at the site on November 29, 2023, in Re'im, Israel. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)
Caption
A soldier walks with a rose near photos of people killed during Hamas's attack on the Nova festival at the site on November 29, 2023, in Re'im, Israel. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)
michael_doran
michael_doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Can Kasapoglu 华体会
Can Kasapoglu 华体会
Senior Fellow (Nonresident)
jonathan_schachter
jonathan_schachter
Senior Fellow, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
zineb_riboua
zineb_riboua
Research Fellow, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Commentary
6 Min Read
Israeli combat engineers maneuver their armored vehicles at a staging point near the Israeli border on November 14, 2023, near Sderot, Israel. (Christopher Furlong via Getty Images)
Caption
Israeli combat engineers maneuver their armored vehicles at a staging point near the Israeli border on November 14, 2023, near Sderot, Israel. (Christopher Furlong via Getty Images)
Can Kasapoglu 华体会
Can Kasapoglu 华体会
Senior Fellow (Nonresident)
jonathan_schachter
jonathan_schachter
Senior Fellow, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
michael_doran
michael_doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
zineb_riboua
zineb_riboua
Research Fellow, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Commentary
6 Min Read
 Soldiers from an Israeli artillery unit wait for orders to fire from the Israeli side of the border toward the Gaza Strip on November 6, 2023, in southern Israel. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Caption
Soldiers from an Israeli artillery unit wait for orders to fire from the Israeli side of the border toward the Gaza Strip on November 6, 2023, in southern Israel. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Default Expert Image
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Can Kasapoglu 华体会
Can Kasapoglu 华体会
Senior Fellow (Nonresident)
jonathan_schachter
jonathan_schachter
Senior Fellow, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Commentary
5 Min Read
A masked demonstrator waves a flag of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah during a demonstration supporting the Palestinians in Beirut on October 20, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption
A masked demonstrator waves a flag of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah during a demonstration supporting the Palestinians in Beirut on October 20, 2023. (Joseph Eid/AFP via Getty Images)
Default Expert Image
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
In the Media