Kristian Alexander

Dr Kristian Alexander is a geopolitical analyst and researcher specialising in security, politics and strategic affairs in the Middle East, with a particular focus on the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

He previously served as a Senior Fellow at the Rabdan Security & Defence Institute in Abu Dhabi and is currently an adviser at Gulf States Analytics, a Washington-based geopolitical risk consultancy. Earlier in his career, he worked as a Senior Fellow at TRENDS Research & Advisory and as an Assistant Professor in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi.

Dr Alexander is the co-editor, with William Gueraiche, of Facets of Security in the United Arab Emirates, published by Routledge. He is also the co-editor, with Khalid AlMezaini, of Introduction to Gulf Politics, scheduled for publication by Cambridge University Press in July 2026.

His research has been published by a wide range of international think tanks, policy institutes and academic platforms, including the Middle East Institute, the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, the Atlantic Council, Gulf International Forum, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, the Cambridge Middle East and North Africa Forum, the Middle East Institute Singapore, the Institute for Security and Development Policy, and the Stimson Center.

His work examines regional security, geopolitical competition, foreign policy and defence issues across the Middle East, with particular attention to the evolving strategic role of the Gulf states.