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 Journal,  The Washington Post, and The New York Times.

Events
26
October 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Mecca Pact vs. IMEC: Competing Visions for the New Middle East
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Chaim Martin
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş
Soner Cagaptay
Ken Moriyasu
MBS and Erdogan
26
October 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Mecca Pact vs. IMEC: Competing Visions for the New Middle East

Join Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Ken Moriyasu for a panel with Chaim Martin, Israel’s minister of economic affairs to the United States; Aslı Aydıntaşbaş of the Brookings Institution; Soner Cagaptay of the Washington Institute; and Director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East Michael Doran as they examine the logic behind each framework and what their rivalry means for US policy.

MBS and Erdogan
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Chaim Martin
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş
Soner Cagaptay
Ken Moriyasu
22
October 2026
In-Person Event | Invite Only
Decision Time in Jerusalem: Inside Israel’s Election
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Ludovic Hood
David Wurmser
David Makovsky
Israel cars
22
October 2026
In-Person Event | Invite Only
Decision Time in Jerusalem: Inside Israel’s Election

Join Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Ludovic Hood for a panel with David Wurmser of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs; David Makovsky of the Washington Institute; and Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, Michael Doran, as they discuss the state of the race and potential paths forward for the United States–Israel relationship.

Israel cars
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Ludovic Hood
David Wurmser
David Makovsky
13
August 2026
Past Event
Six Months After Epic Fury: The State of the Conflict in the Gulf
Featured Speakers:
Behnam Ben Taleblu
Michael Doran
Ludovic Hood
Zineb Riboua
Hello
13
August 2026
Past Event
Six Months After Epic Fury: The State of the Conflict in the Gulf

Join Hudson Institute Senior Fellows Michael Doran and Ludovic Hood, Research Fellow Zineb Riboua, and Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, for a timely discussion about the conflicts in the region and America’s strategic and diplomatic paths forward.

Hello
Featured Speakers:
Behnam Ben Taleblu
Michael Doran
Ludovic Hood
Zineb Riboua
28
July 2026
Past Event
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
Past Event
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
An Iranian-made surface-to-surface missile is displayed next to the Azadi tower during a rally to mark the forty-forth anniversary of  Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution on February 11, 2023. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Caption
An Iranian-made surface-to-surface missile is displayed next to the Azadi tower during a rally to mark the forty-forth anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution on February 11, 2023. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
michael_doran
michael_doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Commentary
Long Read
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