Sanam Vakil

Biography

Dr Sanam Vakil is the director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House. Her expertise spans Iranian and Gulf politics, regional security dynamics, and US foreign policy, with a particular focus on the evolving strategic landscape of the Middle East and its global connectivity.

At Chatham House, Sanam directs a diverse portfolio of research and policy initiatives, addressing critical issues such as Gulf Arab security and economic transitions, Iran’s regional ambitions, governance and political reform, women’s empowerment, and the intersection of climate and socio-economic challenges.

She provides nuanced analysis of Western policy priorities – particularly those of the UK, US, and Europe – while also offering strategic insight into the growing influence of China and Russia across the region, and regularly engaging with government, corporate and research sectors.

In addition to her policy work, Sanam holds the James Anderson Professorial Lectureship in Middle East Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS Europe) in Bologna, Italy, where she has taught Middle East politics since 2008.

She previously served on the faculty of SAIS Washington’s Middle East Studies Program. Sanam is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on other advisory boards and is regularly consulted by high ranking government officials in the US, Europe, UK, and Middle East.

Past experience

2019-23	Deputy Director and Senior Research Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House
2008 - present	Professorial lecturer, Johns Hopkins University - SAIS Europe
2011-13	Senior Research Associate, Management Systems International
2005-07	Assistant Professor, Middle East Studies, Johns Hopkins University – SAIS Washington
2004-05	Research assistant, Iran Project, Council on Foreign Relations

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In the news

The killing of the US soldiers adds “further anxiety that a regional war is actually here,” said Sanam Vakil.

Sanam Vakil speaks to Christiane Amanpour on the deep concern that Israel’s Gaza war could expand to Lebanon.

Sanam Vakil on the deadly drone strike in Jordan and a response expected by the US.

How the United Arab Emirates is plotting its rise.

Sanam Vakil speaks to Channel 4 news on women in Iran.

The release of prisoners and anniversary of the killing of Mahsa Amini highlight a failure to solve the challenges from Tehran.

Sanam Vakil, deputy head of the Middle East North Africa program at Chatham House, discusses the country’s patriarchal system.

An Embattled Regime Faces Mass Protests—and an Ailing Supreme Leader.

If no deal is made, Iran’s acceleration of its nuclear program, alongside ongoing regional violence, would certainly continue if not increase.

While the talks put the respective leaders in the spotlight, the implications for regional stability, economic cooperation, food security and the war in Ukraine remain opaque, write Sanam Vakil and Galip Dalay.