Dr. Ali Bakır

Dr. Ali Bakir is a professor of international affairs, security, and defense at Qatar University’s Ibn Khaldon Center for Humanities and Social Sciences. He is also a non-resident senior fellow with the “Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative” at the Atlantic Council’s Middle East programs.

Bakir has over 15 years of professional experience working with senior officials, decision makers, and stakeholders for governmental, non-governmental, and private sector institutions. Before joining Qatar University, he worked as a senior political adviser, head of the Gulf Studies Unit at the Middle East Studies Center, senior researcher at the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies of the International Strategic Research Organization, and a researcher and senior editor at Aiwa Group for defense and economy.

His work focuses on the strategic, geopolitical, security, and inter-regional trends and dynamics in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Türkiye’s foreign and defense policies, Türkiye-Arab/Gulf ties  and Gulf security. Bakir’s education, fieldwork, and work experience spans several countries, including Kuwait, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Tükiye, and Qatar. He is currently working on several projects on Türkiye and Gulf security. His most recent academic work is “Turkey’s Security Role in the Gulf Region: Exploring the case of a newcomer”.