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
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
Bushehr-nuclear-power-plant
Caption
A picture taken on November 10, 2019, shows an Iranian flag in Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, during an official ceremony to kick-start works on a second reactor at the facility. Bushehr is Iran's only nuclear power station and is currently running on imported fuel from Russia that is closely monitored by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency. (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)
michael_doran
michael_doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
In the Media