Jon B. Alterman

Jon B. Alterman is a senior vice president, holds the Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, and is director of the Middle East Program at CSIS. Prior to joining CSIS in 2002, he served as a member of the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State and as a special assistant to the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, and from 2009-2019 he served as a member of the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel. In addition to his policy work, he often teaches Middle Eastern studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the George Washington University. Earlier in his career, Alterman was a scholar at the U.S. Institute of Peace and at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a legislative aide to Senator Daniel P. Moynihan (D-NY) responsible for foreign policy and defense. From 1993 to 1997, Alterman was an award-winning teacher at Harvard University, where he received his Ph.D. in history.
Alterman has lectured in more than 35 countries on five continents on subjects related to the Middle East and U.S. policy toward the region. He is the author or coauthor of four books on the Middle East and the editor of five more. In addition to his academic work, he is sought out as a consultant to business and government and is a frequent commentator in print, on radio, and on television. His opinion pieces have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and other major publications. He is a former international affairs fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, where he is now a life member. He received his A.B. from Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs.
Areas of Expertise
In the News
‘The Art of Diplomacy’: How the World Responds to a Pariah State
Jon B. Alterman in CNBC — January 23, 2023
What Europe’s ‘Qatargate’ Is—and Isn’t
Jon B. Alterman in Foreign Policy — January 19, 2023
How Gulf tensions drove Qatar to seek friends in Brussels
Jon B. Alterman in Politico — January 11, 2023
How Saudi Arabia's crown prince snubbed Biden repeatedly to forge ties with authoritarian China and Russia
Jon B. Alterman in Business Insider — January 1, 2023
China Makes Moves in Middle East After Biden's Frosty Reception
Jon B. Alterman in Newsweek — December 21, 2022
When China and Saudi Arabia meet, nothing matters more than oil
Jon B. Alterman in CNN — December 8, 2022
Saudi Prince Seeks Mideast Leadership, Independence with Xi's Visit
Jon B. Alterman in ChoSun Media — December 6, 2022
US grants immunity to Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman
Jon B. Alterman in Financial Times — November 18, 2022
All content by Jon B. Alterman
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The Kurdish Roots of Iran’s Freedom Movement
Event by Jon B. Alterman , Jason Rezaian , Behrouz Boochani , and Tara Azizi — January 26, 2023

Hanna Notte: Russia in the Middle East After Ukraine
Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman , Natasha Hall , and Daniel Sharp — January 24, 2023

The Arab World at an Inflection Point
Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — January 17, 2023

Jihad Azour: The Middle East's Economic Outlook
Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman , Natasha Hall , and Daniel Sharp — January 10, 2023

The Middle East’s Economic Outlook
Transcript by Jon B. Alterman — January 10, 2023

Khalid Albaih: The Information Bubble
Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman , Will Todman , and Lubna Yousef — December 27, 2022

C. Raja Mohan: India's Middle East Strategy
Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman , Will Todman , and Lubna Yousef — December 13, 2022

India's Middle East Strategy
Transcript by Jon B. Alterman and C. Raja Mohan — December 13, 2022

World Cup Geopolitics
Podcast Episode by H. Andrew Schwartz and Jon B. Alterman — December 1, 2022

Tamar Hermann: Israel's Rightward Shift
Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman , Natasha Hall , and Daniel Sharp — November 29, 2022
