Bernard Haykel

Senior Fellow (Nonresident), Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East

Bernard Haykel Hudson Institute

At A Glance:

Bernard Haykel is a nonresident senior fellow with Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East.

Biography

Bernard Haykel is a nonresident senior fellow with Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East.

Dr. Haykel is a scholar of the Arabian Peninsula focusing on the politics, economics, and history of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Yemen. He is a professor of near eastern studies at Princeton University, where he teaches on energy, history, and politics. Dr. Haykel was previously director of the Institute for the Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East at Princeton and led the university’s project on oil, energy, and the Middle East.

He is the author of Revival and Reform in Islam and the editor of Saudi Arabia in Transition, both published by Cambridge University Press. His next book, The Realm: MBS and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia, will be published by Penguin Press.

Dr. Haykel is an authority on Islamist political movements and Islamic law and is the author of numerous articles on these and related topics. He received the Prize Fellowship at Magdalen College, University of Oxford and the Carnegie Corporation and Guggenheim Fellowships and Old Dominion Professorship at Princeton.

Dr. Haykel appears frequently in print and broadcast media, including The Wall Street Journal, PBS, NPR, The New York Times, Project Syndicate, Al Arabia, Al Jazeera, The Caravan, The Indian Express, BBC, and other outlets. He regularly advises business leaders in the United States, Europe, and the Gulf.

Dr. Haykel earned his doctorate in oriental studies from the University of Oxford.

12
December 2025
In-Person Event | Invite Only
Antisemitism as a National Security Threat
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Bernard Haykel
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
Can Kasapoğlu
Liel Leibovitz
Michael Sobolik
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12
December 2025
In-Person Event | Invite Only
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:
Michael Doran
Bernard Haykel
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
Can Kasapoğlu
Liel Leibovitz
Michael Sobolik
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
14
November 2025
Past Event
The Houthis: Understanding a Key Node in Iran’s Axis of Resistance
Featured Speakers:
Matan Daniel
Mohammed Albasha
Bernard Haykel
Moderator:
Joshua Meservey
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14
November 2025
Past Event
The Houthis: Understanding a Key Node in Iran’s Axis of Resistance

Senior Fellow Joshua Meservey will discuss the Houthis’ beliefs, capabilities, and influence in Africa with an expert panel convened in conjunction with the Israel-Africa Relations Institute.

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Featured Speakers:
Matan Daniel
Mohammed Albasha
Bernard Haykel
Moderator:
Joshua Meservey
23
May 2025
Past Event
Trump and the Gulf
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Bernard Haykel
Moderator:
Zineb Riboua
Saudi and United States flags fly as Air Force One arrives at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 13, 2025. (Getty Images)
23
May 2025
Past Event
Trump and the Gulf
Saudi and United States flags fly as Air Force One arrives at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 13, 2025. (Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Bernard Haykel
Moderator:
Zineb Riboua
22
May 2025
Past Event
US-China Rivalry in the Middle East Conference
Featured Speakers:
Senator Ted Cruz
Congressman Kevin Hern
Elliott Abrams
Michael Doran
Mary Kissel
Bernard Haykel
Joshua Meservey
John Lee
Aaron MacLean
Ray Takeyh
Thomas J. Duesterberg
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
Past Event
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
Congressman Kevin Hern
Elliott Abrams
Michael Doran
Mary Kissel
Bernard Haykel
Joshua Meservey
John Lee
Aaron MacLean
Ray Takeyh
Thomas J. Duesterberg
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
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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.

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Featured Speakers:
Bernard Haykel
Michael Doran
19
August 2022
Past Event
Virtual Event | Saudi Arabia’s China Option
Featured Speakers:
Mohammed Alyahya
Bernard Haykel
Michael Doran
President Joe Biden  takes part in a working session with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Al Salam Royal Palace in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah on July 15, 2022. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
19
August 2022
Past Event
Virtual Event | Saudi Arabia’s China Option

Please join Hudson Institute for a discussion on how far Chinese-Saudi cooperation can go. Panelists will consider whether Saudi Arabia truly has a Ch

President Joe Biden  takes part in a working session with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Al Salam Royal Palace in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah on July 15, 2022. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Mohammed Alyahya
Bernard Haykel
Michael Doran