Ibrahim Al-Assil

Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assil is a Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Middle East Initiative, where he serves as project lead for the Syria Transition Lab. His work examines geopolitics, governance, and state building, with a focus on the Gulf and Levant.

Dr. Al-Assil's work bridges academic research, policy, and practice, informed by his engagement in conflict resolution, regional Track II dialogues, and grassroots movements. He served as a professorial lecturer at George Washington University’s Department of Political Science teaching courses on comparative politics and great-power competition. He has held fellowships at Harvard University’s Center for Public Leadership, the Middle East Institute and Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C., and the Orient Research Centre in Dubai. He was a founding member and former president of the Syrian Nonviolence Movement, and has served on the boards of the Harvard Arab Alumni Association and various political risk advisory groups.

Dr. Al-Assil has advised U.S., European, and regional policymakers, testified at the United Nations, and contributed to policy and academic conversations across the world. He has been published and quoted in leading international outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, and the Atlantic. He regularly appears on BBC, CNN, and Alarabiya, and previously created and hosted Podcast AlAwsat.

He holds a Doctor of International Affairs (DIA) from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), a Master in Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard Kennedy School, an MBA from the University of Essex.

In addition to his policy and academic work, Dr. Al-Assil is an abstract artist whose paintings explore themes of identity, memory, and transformation. He is a contributor to Liberties Journal on culture and politics.