Dr. Karen E. Young is a leading political economist whose research focuses on the Gulf states and the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. She serves as Senior Fellow and leads the Economics and Energy Initiative at the Middle East Institute, while also holding the position of Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy. Her work examines the intersection of energy markets, economic development, finance, and security, with particular emphasis on the evolving role of Gulf economies in global affairs.
Throughout her career, Dr. Young has held research and teaching appointments at several prominent academic and policy institutions. Prior to joining MEI, she was a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. She has also served as a research fellow at the London School of Economics Middle East Centre, led seminars on emerging markets at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, taught Middle East international relations at George Washington University, and regularly instructs at the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute. From 2009 to 2014, she was Assistant Professor of Political Science at American University of Sharjah.
Dr. Young is widely recognized for her analysis of Gulf political economy and international energy affairs. Her research and commentary have appeared in leading publications including Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Financial Times, and Bloomberg. Her expertise is frequently sought by major international media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Reuters, NPR, and CBS.
She is the author of the acclaimed book The Economic Statecraft of the Gulf Arab States: Deploying Aid, Investment and Development Across MENAP, which explores how Gulf states use economic tools to project influence and shape regional development. She also authored The Political Economy of Energy, Finance and Security in the United Arab Emirates, a comprehensive study of the relationship between politics, markets, and energy governance in the UAE.
Dr. Young earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from the City University of New York Graduate Center, an M.A. in Political Science from Columbia University, an M.A. in International Economics from Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar, and a B.A. in Anthropology from Wellesley College.
Dr. Karen E. Young is a leading political economist whose research focuses on the Gulf states and the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. She serves as Senior Fellow and leads the Economics and Energy Initiative at the Middle East Institute, while also holding the position of Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy. Her work examines the intersection of energy markets, economic development, finance, and security, with particular emphasis on the evolving role of Gulf economies in global affairs.
Throughout her career, Dr. Young has held research and teaching appointments at several prominent academic and policy institutions. Prior to joining MEI, she was a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. She has also served as a research fellow at the London School of Economics Middle East Centre, led seminars on emerging markets at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, taught Middle East international relations at George Washington University, and regularly instructs at the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute. From 2009 to 2014, she was Assistant Professor of Political Science at American University of Sharjah.
Dr. Young is widely recognized for her analysis of Gulf political economy and international energy affairs. Her research and commentary have appeared in leading publications including Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Financial Times, and Bloomberg. Her expertise is frequently sought by major international media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Reuters, NPR, and CBS.
She is the author of the acclaimed book The Economic Statecraft of the Gulf Arab States: Deploying Aid, Investment and Development Across MENAP, which explores how Gulf states use economic tools to project influence and shape regional development. She also authored The Political Economy of Energy, Finance and Security in the United Arab Emirates, a comprehensive study of the relationship between politics, markets, and energy governance in the UAE.
Dr. Young earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from the City University of New York Graduate Center, an M.A. in Political Science from Columbia University, an M.A. in International Economics from Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar, and a B.A. in Anthropology from Wellesley College.
