Michael Doran

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

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At A Glance:

Michael Doran is a senior fellow and director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East at Hudson Institute.

Biography

Michael Doran is a senior fellow and director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East at Hudson Institute. He specializes in Middle East security issues and cohosts Israel Update.

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, Ike’s Gamble, 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 JournalThe Washington Post, and The New York Times.

Events
16
January 2026
Past Event
Why Transportation Matters to Israel’s Regional Strategy
Featured Speakers:
Miri Regev
Michael Doran
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16
January 2026
Past Event
Why Transportation Matters to Israel’s Regional Strategy

Hudson Senior Fellow and Director for the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East Mike Doran will sit down with Israeli Minister of Transportation Miri Regev to examine how Israel’s transportation policy has become a frontline arena for its national resilience and global strategy.

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Featured Speakers:
Miri Regev
Michael Doran
12
December 2025
Past Event
Antisemitism as a National Security Threat
Featured Speakers:
Cole Bunzel
Sebastian Gorka
Adam Hadley
Derek Harvey
Ludovic Hood
Scott Jennings
Ambassador (ret.) Deborah E. Lipstadt, PhD
Park MacDougald
Congressman Brian Mast
Walter Russell Mead
Zineb Riboua
Judd Rosenblatt
Joel Scanlon
Michael Sobolik
Matt Spalding
John P. Walters
Moderators:
Michael Doran
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
Liel Leibovitz
Aaron MacLean
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12
December 2025
Past Event
Antisemitism as a National Security Threat

Hudson’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East will convene policymakers, experts, and private sector leaders to examine how antisemitism, both foreign and domestic, threatens American security and Western civilization.

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Featured Speakers:
Cole Bunzel
Sebastian Gorka
Adam Hadley
Derek Harvey
Ludovic Hood
Scott Jennings
Ambassador (ret.) Deborah E. Lipstadt, PhD
Park MacDougald
Congressman Brian Mast
Walter Russell Mead
Zineb Riboua
Judd Rosenblatt
Joel Scanlon
Michael Sobolik
Matt Spalding
John P. Walters
Moderators:
Michael Doran
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
Liel Leibovitz
Aaron MacLean
01
December 2025
Past Event
Ambassador Youssef Amrani on the US-Morocco Relationship
Featured Speakers:
Ambassador Youssef Amrani
Michael Doran
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01
December 2025
Past Event
Ambassador Youssef Amrani on the US-Morocco Relationship

Hudson’s Michael Doran will host Youssef Amrani, Morocco’s ambassador to the United States, to discuss Morocco’s emerging Atlantic strategy, its role as a stabilizing force in Africa, and the geopolitical opportunities reshaping the US-Morocco partnership. 

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Featured Speakers:
Ambassador Youssef Amrani
Michael Doran
26
November 2025
Past Event
America and Saudi Arabia at a Strategic Crossroads: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s US Visit
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Bernard Haykel
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26
November 2025
Past Event
America and Saudi Arabia at a Strategic Crossroads: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s US Visit

Hudson Institute’s Michael Doran and Bernard Haykel will discuss Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s recent visit to the United States and its implications for the future of the US-Saudi partnership. 

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Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Bernard Haykel
A relief on the Arch of Titus depicts sacred objects from the Temple of Jerusalem being carried during a triumphal procession, as seen on December 7, 2017, in Rome, Italy. (Getty Images)
Caption
A relief on the Arch of Titus depicts sacred objects from the Temple of Jerusalem being carried during a triumphal procession, as seen on December 7, 2017, in Rome, Italy. (Getty Images)
michael_doran
michael_doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Michael Doran
Commentary
Long Read
A protester flashes victory signs as traffic slows during demonstrations in Hamedan, Iran, on January 1, 2026. The demonstrations erupted after shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar shut their businesses to protest the sharp fall of Iran’s currency and worsening economic conditions. (Getty Images)
Caption
A protester flashes victory signs as traffic slows during demonstrations in Hamedan, Iran, on January 1, 2026. The demonstrations erupted after shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar shut their businesses to protest the sharp fall of Iran’s currency and worsening economic conditions. (Getty Images)
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Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Michael Doran
Commentary
8 Min Read