Expert Interviews is an exclusive series provided by The Gulf Nashra, where we sit down with leading researchers, policymakers, and analysts to examine the political, economic, and geopolitical dynamics shaping the Gulf, and what they mean for the rest of the world.
Today, our conversation is with Dr. Ali Bakir. He is a Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs and Research Professor of International Affairs, Security, and Defense at Qatar University. He previously served as a Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a task force member at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and Senior Political Adviser at Qatar’s Embassy in Ankara. His earlier positions include Head of the Gulf Studies Program at ORSAM and Senior Researcher at ISRO’s Center for MENA Studies. With two decades of experience advising governments, think tanks, and private-sector institutions, his research focuses on Gulf security, Middle East geopolitics, Türkiye, and great-power competition. Bakir is also editor or co-editor of several forthcoming volumes on GCC security, defense-industry localization, the Iran-Israel rivalry, and contemporary Saudi Arabia.
