Michael Stephens is a specialist in International Security and Development policy with an expertise in the Middle East and South Asia.

Michael currently serves as a consultant to major philanthropic organisations such as the Gates Foundation, United Nations, and the World Bank.

Previously Michael was the Research Fellow for Middle East Studies at RUSI, and Head of RUSI Qatar. In 2017 he was seconded to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, as Senior Research Analyst for Syria and Lebanon. Michael has nearly twenty years of experience working in the Middle East, and has conducted research across many countries including Turkey, the Levant, Iraq and the Gulf States.

Michael recently co-Authored "What's next for Britain in the Middle East?" alongside Dr Christopher Phillips, which included contributions from some of Britain's finest minds on the Middle East to assess policy challenges for British policy makers in the 2020s.
As a frequent commentator on Middle East affairs, his writing has appeared in many news outlets and he is also a regular broadcast commentator. Michael also advises the Crown Prosecution Service on issues relating to national security, and counter terrorism.

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.