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.

Researcher
Zineb Riboua
Research Fellow 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
09
July 2024
Past Event
The Iran Threat to US-NATO Security
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Congressman Ted Deutch
Moderator:
Peter Rough
An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps member carrying a Palestinian flag in downtown Tehran on April 29, 2022. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
09
July 2024
Past Event
The Iran Threat to US-NATO Security

Former Congressman Ted Deutch, the CEO of the American Jewish Committee, will join Hudson to discuss what NATO militaries can learn from Israel’s fight against Iran-backed militias, the implications of a nuclear Iran for Europe, Tehran’s role in the rise of antisemitism in the West, and why aiding Israel is an important step to dismantle the China–Russia–Iran–North Korea axis.

An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps member carrying a Palestinian flag in downtown Tehran on April 29, 2022. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Congressman Ted Deutch
Moderator:
Peter Rough
20
June 2024
Past Event
The Agendas of Jew Hatred
Featured Speakers:
Daniel Schwammenthal
Ilan Berman
Paul Caresse
Liel Leibovitz
Moderator:
Michael Doran
Pro-Palestinian protesters rally outside the Fordham University Lincoln Center on May 1, 2024, in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
20
June 2024
Past Event
The Agendas of Jew Hatred

What are the hidden agendas of antisemites and anti-Zionists? What are the implications of this agenda for national security? And what is to be done?

Pro-Palestinian protesters rally outside the Fordham University Lincoln Center on May 1, 2024, in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Daniel Schwammenthal
Ilan Berman
Paul Caresse
Liel Leibovitz
Moderator:
Michael Doran
07
May 2024
Past Event
The College Campus Tentifada: How It Started, Why It Matters, and How to Curb It
Featured Speakers:
Ran Kivetz
Liel Leibovitz
Asaf Romirowsky
Moderator:
Michael Doran
An American flag hangs from the roof of Lisner Hall of the George Washington University Law School as people walk around an encampment at University Yard on May 3, 2024 in Washington, DC. Pro-Palestinian encampments have sprung up at college campuses around the country with some demonstrators calling for schools to divest from Israeli interests amid the ongoing war in Gaza. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
07
May 2024
Past Event
The College Campus Tentifada: How It Started, Why It Matters, and How to Curb It

Michael Doran hosts Professor Ran Kivetz, Asaf Romirowsky, and Liel Leibovitz to discuss the causes of the recent slate of pro-Hamas encampments on American college campuses.

An American flag hangs from the roof of Lisner Hall of the George Washington University Law School as people walk around an encampment at University Yard on May 3, 2024 in Washington, DC. Pro-Palestinian encampments have sprung up at college campuses around the country with some demonstrators calling for schools to divest from Israeli interests amid the ongoing war in Gaza. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Ran Kivetz
Liel Leibovitz
Asaf Romirowsky
Moderator:
Michael Doran
15
April 2024
Past Event
Is China the Big Winner in the Red Sea?
Featured Speakers:
Salvatore Mercogliano
Michael Roberts
Moderator:
Michael Doran
 The cargo ship Rubymar sinking after it was targeted by Yemen's Houthi forces in international waters on March 7, 2024, in the Red Sea. (Photo by Al-Joumhouriah channel via Getty Images)
15
April 2024
Past Event
Is China the Big Winner in the Red Sea?

Shipping experts discuss the Houthi attacks’ consequences for the global economy and the balance of power between the US and its global rivals.

 The cargo ship Rubymar sinking after it was targeted by Yemen's Houthi forces in international waters on March 7, 2024, in the Red Sea. (Photo by Al-Joumhouriah channel via Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Salvatore Mercogliano
Michael Roberts
Moderator:
Michael Doran
An airman unstraps an inert Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) during the Lone Star Challenge at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, on July 13, 2023. (US Air Force photo)
Caption
An airman unstraps an inert Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) during the Lone Star Challenge at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, on July 13, 2023. (US Air Force photo)
michael_doran
michael_doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Commentary
6 Min Read