Michael Stephens

@MikeRStephens

Non-Resident Senior Fellow - National Security Program

Michael Stephens is Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He is a foreign policy analyst and national security expert from Great Britain, who has worked extensively across the Middle East, and served as an advisor to a number of different governments. He is currently an Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, the world’s oldest defence and security think tank, where he previously worked for ten years as a Research Fellow.

From March to June 2017 Michael was seconded into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, serving as the Senior Research Analyst for Syria and Lebanon. Michael also regularly advises the Crown Prosecution Service on issues relating to national security, and counter terrorism, and works closely with the Police as an independent expert on Counter Terrorism cases.

His forthcoming book co-written with Dr Christopher Phillips entitled What next for Britain in the Middle East? Security, Trade and Foreign Policy after Brexit, focuses on British policy to the Middle East following Britain’s exit from the European Union in January 2020. Michael’s current research also focuses on Britain’s alliance with the United States, looking at ways to strengthen and build upon an enduring relationship that serves as the backbone of Britain’s Foreign Policy.

As a frequent commentator on British Foreign Policy and Middle East affairs, his writing has appeared in many news outlets and he is also a regular broadcast commentator. Michael studied at King’s College London and undertook three years of post-graduate research in the Middle East. He is proficient in both Arabic and Hebrew.