Michael Doran

Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East

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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 JournalThe Washington Post, and The New York Times.

Events
20
February 2026
Past Event
The Road to Lasting Peace: US Leadership in the South Caucasus
Featured Speakers:
Vinay Chawla
Luke Coffey
Sonata Coulter
Andrew D’Anieri
Efgan Nifti
Moderator:
Michael Doran
Getty Images
20
February 2026
Past Event
The Road to Lasting Peace: US Leadership in the South Caucasus

Join Hudson for a conversation with officials who have been at the center of these efforts, expert financiers, and leading regional analysts on what the deal achieved, what comes next, and why sustained US engagement in the South Caucasus matters.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Vinay Chawla
Luke Coffey
Sonata Coulter
Andrew D’Anieri
Efgan Nifti
Moderator:
Michael Doran
19
February 2026
Past Event
The Economic Case for the US-Israel Partnership with Minister of Economic Affairs Noach Hacker
Featured Speaker:
Noach Hacker
Moderator:
Michael Doran
Tel Aviv’s skyline. (Getty Images)
19
February 2026
Past Event
The Economic Case for the US-Israel Partnership with Minister of Economic Affairs Noach Hacker
Tel Aviv’s skyline. (Getty Images)
Featured Speaker:
Noach Hacker
Moderator:
Michael Doran
05
February 2026
Past Event
Confronting Antisemitism: A Conversation with Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun
Featured Speakers:
Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun
Michael Doran
Getty Images
05
February 2026
Past Event
Confronting Antisemitism: A Conversation with Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun

The Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East will host a conversation with Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the United States special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism.

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Featured Speakers:
Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun
Michael Doran
16
January 2026
Past Event
Why Transportation Matters to Israel’s Regional Strategy
Featured Speakers:
Miri Regev
Michael Doran
Getty Images
16
January 2026
Past Event
Why Transportation Matters to Israel’s Regional Strategy

Hudson Senior Fellow and Director for the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East Mike Doran will sit down with Israeli Minister of Transportation Miri Regev to examine how Israel’s transportation policy has become a frontline arena for its national resilience and global strategy.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Miri Regev
Michael Doran
A relief on the Arch of Titus depicts sacred objects from the Temple of Jerusalem being carried during a triumphal procession, as seen on December 7, 2017, in Rome, Italy. (Getty Images)
Caption
A relief on the Arch of Titus depicts sacred objects from the Temple of Jerusalem being carried during a triumphal procession, as seen on December 7, 2017, in Rome, Italy. (Getty Images)
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Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Michael Doran
Commentary
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