Paul Salem

Paul Salem is the Vice President for International Engagement at the Middle East Institute. He served previously as MEI’s President and CEO.

His research focuses on issues of political change, transition, and conflict as well as the regional and international relations of the Middle East. Salem is a frequent commentator on US and international media, and is the author and editor of a number of books including Escaping the Conflict Trap: Toward Ending Civil Wars in the Middle East (co-ed. 2019);Winning the Battle, Losing the War: Addressing the Conditions that Fuel Armed Non State Actors (co-ed. 2019);From Chaos to Cooperation: Toward Regional Order in the Middle East (co-ed. 2017) and Bitter Legacy: Ideology and Politics in the Arab World (auth. 1994).

Prior to joining MEI, Salem was the founding director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, the founding director of the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, and associate professor of politics at the American University of Beirut. He received his BA, MA and PhD from Harvard University.