Emile Hokayem is the Director of Regional Security and Senior Fellow for Middle East Security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). He specialises in regional politics, security and conflict analysis in the Middle East, and has authored and edited multiple books and dossiers on Syria, Egypt, regional security, Iran, and Gulf defence. Before joining the IISS, he worked as a political editor and columnist in the Middle East and as an analyst in Washington DC.