Morgan L. Kaplan is the former Executive Editor of International Security and former Series Editor of the Belfer Center Studies in International Security book series at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School. Kaplan's research examines the international politics of rebellion with a focus on how opposition groups use diplomacy to solicit third-party support. He uses field research and archival work to produce historically informed case studies on insurgent movements in the Middle East. While Kaplan's research specializes in Kurdish, Iraqi, and Palestinian national politics, his research addresses broader trends in international security, such as the origins and outcomes of third-party intervention, self-determination and state formation, and transnational opposition and alliance politics.

Kaplan holds a B.A. in International Affairs from the George Washington University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago. He was previously a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Buffett Institute for Global Studies at Northwestern University, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the International Security Program at the Belfer Center, and a Predoctoral Fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University.