Mirdef Alqashouti

Dr. Mirdef Alqashouti is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs. He is currently posted in Kabul as a senior Qatari diplomat. Since joining the diplomatic service in 2008, he has served in various capacities in Baku, Ottawa, Brussels, and Doha, with experience in both bilateral and multilateral diplomacy. He was part of the Qatari negotiation team that contributed to the U.S.-Taliban agreement and has worked extensively on mediation and conflict resolution.

Dr. Alqashouti’s research focuses on Gulf geopolitics, the foreign policy of small states, and Iran-GCC relations. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from Durham University, an Executive MBA from HEC Paris, and a BA in Political Science from Tehran University. He is also an Adjunct Professor and has published widely in academic and policy outlets. His work has been presented at major international conferences. Most recently, he translated and reviewed The Foreign Policy of Smaller Gulf States: Size, Power, and Regime Stability in the Middle East by Máté Szalai (Qatar University Press, 2023).