Will Todman

Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Middle East Program
Will Todman

Will Todman is the deputy director and senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Since joining CSIS in 2016, his research has focused on aid, sustainability, and displacement in the Middle East, with an emphasis on the Levant. He has conducted field research in nine countries across the Middle East and North Africa, and his analysis has been published by peer-reviewed journals, think tanks, and major publications, including the Washington Post. Will has briefed officials from various U.S. government departments and agencies, the UN Security Council, and foreign governments. He has also commented in print and on live television to various outlets, including the BBC, CBS, and CNN. Will is also a 2022–23 Penn Kemble Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy, a fellow at the Centre for Syrian Studies at St. Andrews University, and a former Global Diversity Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Will previously lived in Beirut, where he worked at the British embassy and for the office of the UN special envoy to Syria. He cofounded KAMA DC, a nonprofit that works with refugees and immigrants, and led the organization for seven years. Will holds a BA in Arabic and modern Hebrew from Oxford University and an MA in Arab studies with a certificate in refugee and humanitarian emergencies from Georgetown University, where he studied Persian intensively. 

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Environmental Civil Society in the Middle East

In a new commentary, senior fellow and deputy director Will Todman explains how civil society holds the key to building more sustainable states in the Middle East, as governments in the region struggle to adequately respond to sharpening environmental challenges

Commentary by Will Todman — June 9, 2023

Support for Refugees Erodes in the Middle East

Anti-refugee sentiment is on the rise in the MENA region as economic crises worsen and aid decreases. In a new commentary, Will Todman calls for innovative solutions from global actors to ease host community burdens, shelter victims of violence, and mitigate hostilities.

Commentary by Will Todman — June 5, 2023

How Renewables Fight Corruption in Conflict-Affected States

Middle East Program senior fellow and deputy director Will Todman argues that international donors should advance renewable energy technologies in conflict-affected environments to prevent the entrenchment of vested interests that profit from the electricity crisis.

Commentary by Will Todman — May 16, 2023

Babel: Translating the Middle East

Hafsa Halawa: Egypt's Economic Turmoil

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Hafsa Halawa of the Middle East Institute and author of a new paper entitled Gulf Investment in Egypt, A balance of mutual need. They talk about the economic crisis that has plagued Egypt, shedding light on the factors that have contributed to its tumultuous state.

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman , Will Todman , and Lubna Yousef — May 16, 2023

CSIS Babel

Bolstering Climate Entrepreneurship in the MENA Region

With limited government capacity to drive climate action in the Middle East and insufficient climate financing, greater international support can allow local entrepreneurs to lead the search for innovative and realistic solutions to the region’s mounting climate crisis.

Commentary by Will Todman and Jamil Wyne — May 5, 2023

Libya’s Civil Society Crackdown Exacerbates Its Climate Woes

Libyan authorities are trying to silence independent voices in the run-up to planned elections, but the crackdown undermines the work of civil society more broadly. Lubna Yousef and Will Todman argue that this strategy is self-sabotaging.

Commentary by Lubna Yousef and Will Todman — May 2, 2023

Babel: Translating the Middle East

Ayham Kamel: The Gulf's Regional Diplomacy

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Ayham Kamel of the Eurasia Group. They talk about the current diplomatic landscape in the Gulf, how leaders perceive their security interests, their views on the U.S. staying in power in the region, and how they are responding to the U.S. retrenchment from the Middle East.

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman , Will Todman , and Daniel Sharp — April 18, 2023

CSIS Babel

Powering Recovery in the Middle East: Realities on the Ground

Please join the CSIS Middle East Program for a conversation about international efforts to support more resilient and sustainable infrastructure in fragile states in the Middle East. 

Event by Jon B. Alterman , Matthew D. Steinhelfer , Christina Abi Haidar , Paul Noumba Um , and Will Todman — March 22, 2023

Babel: Translating the Middle East

Iraq 20 Years Later with Marsin Alshamary and Hamzeh Hadad

In a special episode of Babel to mark the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war, Jon sits down with Marsin Alshamary and Hamzeh Hadad to talk about the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion. 

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman , Will Todman , and Lubna Yousef — March 21, 2023

CSIS Babel