Theodore Karasik

Theodore Karasik is currently the Director of Research and Development at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis (INEGMA) in Dubai, UAE and Beirut, Lebanon. Dr. Karasik was a Senior Political Scientist in the International Policy and Security Group at RAND Corporation. During 2002-2003, he served as Director of Research for the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy. He has worked on Arabian Peninsula issues for 18 years on security and terrorism questions. In addition to his work on the Middle East, specifically the Gulf littoral, Dr. Karasik is also an expert on Russia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus as well as transnational terrorist groups and criminals. Dr. Karasik has a background in basic geology and petroleum geology directly related to his previous work on the Caspian and Persian Gulf regions. Dr. Karasik served as a Subject Matter Expert on Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia for the U.S. Library of Congress. He also served as a Committee Member on IREX’s Contemporary Issues Fellowship Program for Azerbaijani applicants. Dr. Karasik worked for 18 months with internists in Santa Monica, CA to develop a software package to track human systems and pharmaceutical use. Dr. Karasik received his Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Los Angeles in four fields: Russia, Middle East, Caucasus and an outside field in cultural anthropology focusing on tribes and clans. He wrote his dissertation on military and humanitarian operations in the northern port city of Arkhangel’sk and their impact on political institutions during the Russian civil war. He has published numerous studies for RAND, as well as numerous articles, commentaries and interviews.