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.

Research Associate
Zineb Riboua
Research Associate 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
14
March 2024
Past Event
The Future of US-Israel Relations
Featured Speakers:
Elliott Abrams
Jonathan Silver
Michael Doran
Moderator:
Zineb Riboua
A unit of Israeli soldiers returns to the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip on January 28, 2024. (Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images)
14
March 2024
Past Event
The Future of US-Israel Relations

Michael Doran,  Jonathan Silver, and Elliott Abrams will discuss Israel’s foreign and domestic policies since the October 7 massacre, the Biden administration’s Middle East policy and its impacts, and the rise of anti-Zionism in the US.

A unit of Israeli soldiers returns to the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip on January 28, 2024. (Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Elliott Abrams
Jonathan Silver
Michael Doran
Moderator:
Zineb Riboua
07
March 2024
Past Event
Aiding America’s Frontline Allies: The View from Israel and Ukraine with Secretary Mike Pompeo
Featured Speakers:
Michael R. Pompeo
Michael Doran
The Israeli flag flies in front of the Lviv Regional State Administration building as a sign of solidarity with the Israeli people on October 13, 2023, in Lviv, Ukraine. (Photo by Les Kasyanov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
07
March 2024
Past Event
Aiding America’s Frontline Allies: The View from Israel and Ukraine with Secretary Mike Pompeo

Mike Pompeo will sit down with Michael Doran to discuss how America return to a position of global strength.

The Israeli flag flies in front of the Lviv Regional State Administration building as a sign of solidarity with the Israeli people on October 13, 2023, in Lviv, Ukraine. (Photo by Les Kasyanov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Michael R. Pompeo
Michael Doran
29
February 2024
Past Event
The Day after the War in Gaza: A Palestinian State?
Featured Speakers:
Dan Diker
Yossi Kuperwasser
Michael Doran
Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken shake hands prior to a meeting at the Muqata, the presidential compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on November 30, 2023. (Photo by Saul Loeb/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
29
February 2024
Past Event
The Day after the War in Gaza: A Palestinian State?

Join Hudson for a conversation on what US recognition of a Palestinian state could mean in the region and beyond.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken shake hands prior to a meeting at the Muqata, the presidential compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on November 30, 2023. (Photo by Saul Loeb/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Dan Diker
Yossi Kuperwasser
Michael Doran
23
February 2024
Past Event
The World Before and After October 7: A Conversation with MK Simcha Rothman
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
MK Simcha Rothman
The image of rescued Israeli-Argentinian hostage Louis Har with the word "rescued" written on it outside the Ministry of Defence in Tel Aviv on February 12, 2024 (Oren Ziv/AFP via Getty Images)
23
February 2024
Past Event
The World Before and After October 7: A Conversation with MK Simcha Rothman
The image of rescued Israeli-Argentinian hostage Louis Har with the word "rescued" written on it outside the Ministry of Defence in Tel Aviv on February 12, 2024 (Oren Ziv/AFP via Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
MK Simcha Rothman
Missiles and UAVs are shown with Israeli and American flags in Tehran, Iran, on February 11, 2024. (Photo by Hossein Beris/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption
Missiles and UAVs are shown with Israeli and American flags in Tehran, Iran, on February 11, 2024. (Photo by Hossein Beris/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
michael_doran
michael_doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Senior Fellow (Non-Resident)
jonathan_schachter
jonathan_schachter
Senior Fellow, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Commentary
6 Min Read
Yemenis lift a Palestinian flag and placards depicting Houthi group leader Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi and Abu Obaida, the spokesperson of Hamas' armed wing, on January 24, 2024, in Sana'a, Yemen. (Photo by Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)
Caption
Yemenis lift a Palestinian flag and placards depicting Houthi group leader Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi and Abu Obaida, the spokesperson of Hamas' armed wing, on January 24, 2024, in Sana'a, Yemen. (Photo by Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)
michael_doran
michael_doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Senior Fellow (Non-Resident)
jonathan_schachter
jonathan_schachter
Senior Fellow, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Commentary
6 Min Read
Armed rebels of the Iran-backed Houthi militia ride a pick-up truck during a demonstration against the USA and Israel amid growing tensions between the USA and the Houthis following the latter's several operations in the Red Sea on January 29, 2024, in Sanaa, Yemen. (Osamah Yahya via Getty Images)
Caption
Armed rebels of the Iran-backed Houthi militia ride a pick-up truck during a demonstration against the United States and Israel on January 29, 2024, in Sanaa, Yemen. (Osamah Yahya via Getty Images)
Default Expert Image
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
jonathan_schachter
jonathan_schachter
Senior Fellow, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Senior Fellow (Non-Resident)
zineb_riboua
zineb_riboua
Research Fellow and Program Manager, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Commentary
5 Min Read