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.

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
28
July 2026
In-Person Event | Invite Only
The US-Armenia Relationship and the Future of the South Caucasus: A Conversation with Ambassador Narek Mkrtchyan
Featured Speakers:
H.E. Narek Mkrtchyan
Michael Doran
Getty Images
28
July 2026
In-Person Event | Invite Only
The US-Armenia Relationship and the Future of the South Caucasus: A Conversation with Ambassador Narek Mkrtchyan

Join Senior Fellow Michael Doran for a candid conversation with H.E. Narek Mkrtchyan, ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the United States of America, as they discuss the developments, challenges, and opportunities defining the US-Armenia relationship.  

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
H.E. Narek Mkrtchyan
Michael Doran
21
July 2026
In-Person Event | Invite Only
The US-Israel Economic Partnership: A Farewell Conversation with Minister Noach Hacker
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Noach Hacker
Getty Images
21
July 2026
In-Person Event | Invite Only
The US-Israel Economic Partnership: A Farewell Conversation with Minister Noach Hacker

As the region enters a new strategic phase, Hudson is honored to host Minister Hacker for what promises to be a candid farewell discussion.

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Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Noach Hacker
20
May 2026
Past Event
A Conversation with Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy of the United States Sarah B. Rogers
Featured Speakers:
Sarah B. Rogers
Zineb Riboua
Senator Eric Schmitt
Michael Doran
Getty Images
20
May 2026
Past Event
A Conversation with Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy of the United States Sarah B. Rogers

Please join the Hudson Institute for a conversation with Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah B. Rogers and Hudson Research Fellow Zineb Riboua on how the United States is adapting its public diplomacy tools to advance its interests abroad, counter censorship, promote free speech, and leverage artificial intelligence to deliver more effective, targeted messaging.

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Featured Speakers:
Sarah B. Rogers
Zineb Riboua
Senator Eric Schmitt
Michael Doran
19
May 2026
Past Event
Environmental Agendas, Geopolitical Ends: Climate Policy and Great Power Competition
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Zineb Riboua
Brenda Shaffer
Sam Cooper
Getty Images
19
May 2026
Past Event
Environmental Agendas, Geopolitical Ends: Climate Policy and Great Power Competition

To examine this emerging challenge, Senior Fellow Dr. Michael Doran will convene a conversation with Research Fellow Zineb Riboua, Professor Brenda Shaffer—Research Faculty Member at the US Naval Postgraduate School and Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council—and Sam Cooper, an award-winning investigative journalist focusing on China-Canada relations.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Zineb Riboua
Brenda Shaffer
Sam Cooper
Saudi Minister of State Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, CCP Politburo member Wang Yi, and Iranian Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani in Beijing, on March 10, 2023. (Luo Xiaoguang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Caption
Saudi Minister of State Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Wang Yi, and Iranian Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani in Beijing, China, on March 10, 2023. (Luo Xiaoguang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
michael_doran
michael_doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Commentary
5 Min Read
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei speaks as part of the forty-fourth anniversary events of the Iranian Revolution in Tehran, Iran on February 8, 2023. (Iranian Leader Press Office/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Caption
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei speaks as part of the forty-fourth anniversary events of the Iranian Revolution in Tehran, Iran on February 8, 2023. (Iranian Leader Press Office/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
michael_doran
michael_doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Commentary
10 Min Read
TOPSHOT - The Israeli Iron Dome missile defence system (L) intercepts rockets (R) fired by the Hamas movement towards southern Israel from Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip as seen in the sky above the Gaza Strip overnight on May 14, 2021. - Israel bombarded Gaza with artillery and air strikes on Friday, May 14, in response to a new barrage of rocket fire from the Hamas-run enclave, but stopped short of a ground offensive in the conflict that has now claimed more than 100 Palestinian lives. As the viole
Caption
The Israeli Iron Dome missile defense system intercepts rockets fired by Hamas in the sky above the Gaza Strip on May 14, 2021. (Anas Baba/AFP via Getty Images)
Raphael BenLevi
Raphael BenLevi
Raphael BenLevi
Director, Churchill Program for Strategy, Statesmanship and National Security at the Argaman Institute of Tikvah Fund Israel
michael_doran
michael_doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Raphael BenLevi & Michael Doran
Reports
13 Min Read
Members of 5th Special Forces Group conducting 50. caliber weapons training during counter-ISIS operations at Al Tanf Garrison in southern Syria on November 25, 2017. (DVIDS)
Caption
Members of Fifth Special Forces Group conducting .50 caliber weapons training during counter-ISIS operations at al-Tanf Garrison in southern Syria on November 25, 2017. (DVIDS)
michael_doran
michael_doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Omer Ozkizilcik
Omer Ozkizilcik
Ömer Özkizilcik
Foreign Policy Analyst
Michael Doran & Ömer Özkizilcik
Reports
Long Read
An Iranian long range surface to surface Qadr missile and an anti-aircraft gun are displayed in a war exhibition organized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in a park in southern Tehran to mark the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war on September 23, 2021. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Caption
An Iranian long range surface to surface Qadr missile and an anti-aircraft gun are displayed in a war exhibition organized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in a park in southern Tehran to mark the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war on September 23, 2021. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
michael_doran
michael_doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Can Kasapoglu Hudson Institute
Can Kasapoglu Hudson Institute
Senior Fellow (Nonresident)
Commentary
1 Min Read
missile iran saudi arabia China, Russia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Belarus,
Caption
Missiles fire over the Caspian Sea during the Caucasus-2020 military drills between Iran, China, Russia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Belarus, on September 23, 2020. (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images)
michael_doran
michael_doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Can Kasapoglu Hudson Institute
Can Kasapoglu Hudson Institute
Senior Fellow (Nonresident)
Commentary
Long Read