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 Hudson Institute. 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 Hudson Institute. He specializes in Middle East security issues and co-hosts the Counterbalance 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, 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 Journal,  the Washington Post, and the New York Times.

Events
22
May 2025
Virtual Event | Invitation Only
US-China Rivalry in the Middle East Conference
Featured Speakers:
Senator Ted Cruz
Elliott Abrams
Michael Doran
Mary Kissel
Bernard Haykel
Joshua Meservey
John Lee
Aaron MacLean
Ray Takeyh
Thomas J. Duesterberg
Ellie Cohanim
Jonathan Hessen
Joel Scanlon
Jason Hsu
Dan Blumenthal
Michael Sobolik
Garrett Exner
Ilan Berman
Mike Watson
Moderators:
Liel Leibovitz
Zineb Riboua
Ethan Gutman
Adhwaa Alsaleh
Daniel Samet
(US-China Rivalry in the Middle East logo)
22
May 2025
Virtual Event | Invitation Only
US-China Rivalry in the Middle East Conference

Former policymakers and leading national security experts will join Hudson to assess how China’s growing influence is reshaping the regional order—and how the US should respond.

(US-China Rivalry in the Middle East logo)
Featured Speakers:
Senator Ted Cruz
Elliott Abrams
Michael Doran
Mary Kissel
Bernard Haykel
Joshua Meservey
John Lee
Aaron MacLean
Ray Takeyh
Thomas J. Duesterberg
Ellie Cohanim
Jonathan Hessen
Joel Scanlon
Jason Hsu
Dan Blumenthal
Michael Sobolik
Garrett Exner
Ilan Berman
Mike Watson
Moderators:
Liel Leibovitz
Zineb Riboua
Ethan Gutman
Adhwaa Alsaleh
Daniel Samet
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’s 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’s political, societal, and religious landscape.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Bernard Haykel
Michael Doran
20
March 2025
Past Event
Syria: What’s Next?
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Can Kasapoğlu
Moderator:
Zineb Riboua
Getty Images
20
March 2025
Past Event
Syria: What’s Next?

Senior Fellows Michael Doran and Can Kasapoğlu 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 Kasapoğlu
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’s 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
A Chinese military honor guard marches off after greeting Laotian President Bounnhang Vorachith (not seen) on his arrival at Beijing airport to attend the Belt and Road Forum, on April 25, 2019 (GREG BAKER/GETTY IMAGES)
Caption
A Chinese military honor guard marches off after greeting Laotian President Bounnhang Vorachith (not seen) on his arrival at Beijing airport to attend the Belt and Road Forum, on April 25, 2019 (GREG BAKER/GETTY IMAGES)
michael_doran
michael_doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Peter Rough Hudson Institute
Peter Rough Hudson Institute
Senior Fellow and Director, Center on Europe and Eurasia
Commentary
3 Min Read
Vice President of Lombardy Region Fabrizio Sala speaks during a press conference with members of a Chinese medical team at Milan Malpensa Airport on March 18, 2020 in Ferno, Italy.
Caption
Vice President of Lombardy Region Fabrizio Sala speaks during a press conference with members of a Chinese medical team at Milan Malpensa Airport on March 18, 2020 in Ferno, Italy.
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eric_brown
Senior Fellow
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patrick-cronin
Asia-Pacific Security Chair
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hr_mcmaster
Chair of the Advisory Board, Japan Chair
10+
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Senior Fellow and Director for South and Central Asia
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Research Fellow, India and South Asia
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Fellow (Nonresident)
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Senior Fellow
President, Yorktown Institute
Peter Rough Hudson Institute
Senior Fellow and Director, Center on Europe and Eurasia
Liselotte Odgaard Hudson Institute
Senior Fellow (Nonresident)
Former Fellow
douglas_feith
Senior Fellow
michael_doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Reports
6 Min Read
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he speaks to supporters following the announcement of exit polls in Israel's election at his Likud party headquarters in Tel Aviv.
Caption
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he speaks to supporters following the announcement of exit polls in Israel's election at his Likud party headquarters in Tel Aviv.
michael_doran
michael_doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Commentary
5 Min Read