Nader S. Kabbani

Senior Fellow and Director of Research

Bio

Nader Kabbani is a senior fellow and director of research at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs and a research fellow with the Economic Research Forum based in Cairo, Egypt.

A development researcher and practitioner with over 20 years’ experience, Kabbani previously served as director of research at the Brookings Doha Center and as senior fellow with the Global Economy and Development Program and nonresident senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Program at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.

Prior to joining Brookings, Kabbani was director of policy and research at the Silatech Foundation and the founding director of the Syrian Development Research Centre at the Syria Trust for Development. During his career, Kabbani has held positions on the faculty of the American University of Beirut and on the research staff of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the California State Senate. Kabbani has also served on the boards of several non-profit organizations and social enterprises.

Kabbani has published a diverse set of policy papers, academic articles, and chapters in edited volumes, most recently “Economic Dimensions of the Social Contract and How to Address Them,” in The Modern Arab State: A Decade of Uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. He has served as a consultant and led the preparation of reports and studies for various international organizations, including the World Bank, the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and others.