Dr Dania Thafer

Dania Thafer is the Executive Director of the Gulf International Forum, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank focused on political, economic, social, and security developments across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, as well as Iran, Iraq, and Yemen. She also serves as a Professorial Lecturer at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. Her research focuses on Gulf security, U.S.-Gulf relations, and the political economy of the GCC.

Dr. Thafer is a widely published analyst and frequent consultant on Gulf and Middle East affairs. She is the author of Creative Insecurity: Institutional Inertia and Youth Potential in the GCC, published in 2023 by Oxford University Press and Hurst Publishers. She has also co-edited two volumes: The Arms Trade, Military Services and the Security Market in the Gulf States: Trends and Implications and The Dilemma of Security and Defense in the Gulf Region. Her analysis has been featured in major international outlets including The New York Times, Financial Times, BBC World News, The Washington Post, Forbes, and Al Jazeera. She also advises governments, NGOs, corporations, and research institutions around the world.

Before joining the Gulf International Forum, Dr. Thafer worked at the National Defense University Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, D.C., where she managed engagement with Middle Eastern dignitaries and officials. She holds a master’s degree in political science from New York University and a PhD in Political Science, specialising in political economy and international relations, from American University.