AGSI Welcomes New Non-Resident Fellows

WASHINGTON, April 6, 2026 – The Arab Gulf States Institute is pleased to announce that  Fatima Abo Alasrar, Justin Alexander, and Sean Foley have joined the institute as non-resident fellows. 

Fatima Abo Alasrar is the founder of the Ideology Machine, a publication on authoritarian information systems. She is a scholar specializing in Yemen’s conflict dynamics, the Houthi movement, Iranian-aligned networks, and Gulf security. Her work examines the intersection of ideology, conflict, and great-power competition, with particular attention to how Iranian-aligned movements interact with broader geopolitical currents across the Middle East. Alasrar holds an MA in public administration from Harvard University, an MA in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University, and a BS in architectural engineering from Sana’a University in Yemen. 

Alasrar said, “I’m pleased to rejoin AGSI as a non-resident fellow. Having collaborated with the institute for over a decade, I’ve long valued its role as a platform for rigorous, policy-relevant analysis on the Gulf. At a moment when Yemen’s conflict dynamics, Houthi governance, and Iranian-aligned networks are shaping regional security in profound ways, I look forward to contributing research that brings these issues into sharper focus for policymakers and the broader public.” 

AGSI Executive Vice President William Roebuck said, “We’re very pleased to welcome Fatima back to AGSI, where her work has long contributed to the institute’s depth and rigor on regional security issues. Her expertise on Yemen, the Houthis, and Iranian-aligned networks comes at a particularly important moment as the region navigates the impact of the war against Iran. In analysis including her work on Houthi narrative dominance in Yemen through an architecture of enforced ignorance and her assessment of the United States’ redesignation of the Houthis as a terrorist organization, Fatima’s contributions synthesize insights into ideological construction, patterns of conflict, and the contours of contemporary great-power competition. We look forward to deepening our engagement with her.” 

Justin Alexander is the director of Khalij Economics, a non-resident fellow at the Baker Institute’s Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East, and the Gulf Cooperation Council analyst for GlobalSource Partners, a leading provider of independent intelligence on emerging markets. He has been visiting the Gulf for nearly a quarter century, including seven years living in Qatar, where he worked mainly as an economic advisor at Qatar’s Ministry of Finance. He has lived in Iraq, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories and worked for organizations including the Economist Group, the United Nations, and Schroders.  

Alexander commented, “I’m grateful to the team at the Arab Gulf States Institute for the opportunity to join them as a non-resident fellow. Visiting AGSI has been a fixture of my trips to Washington for nearly a decade. I have enjoyed participating in its seminars and have learned a great deal from its excellent scholars, who have both depth and diversity of expertise. The institute has played a critical role in advancing understanding of the GCC and deepening Gulf-U.S. relationships. This work is more important than ever, given the extreme crisis that the region has now been dragged into, and I look forward to contributing to this.” 

Roebuck said, “We’re delighted to welcome Justin to AGSI as a non-resident fellow. From tracking the scope and significance of sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf to assessing how the Ukraine crisis has vindicated Qatar’s bold gas expansion strategy, Justin has demonstrated policy fluency and substantive depth with developing issues in the region. His long engagement with Gulf economies and policy institutions adds an important dimension to our work at a moment of significantly heightened regional uncertainty. We look forward to strengthening our collaboration with him.”  

Sean Foley is a professor of history at Middle Tennessee State University and specializes in the history of the Middle East and the cultural, political, and religious trends in the wider Islamic world. He has published widely and delivered public presentations to major institutions and conferences around the world. His second book, Changing Saudi Arabia: Art, Culture, and Society in the Kingdom, was published by Lynne Rienner Press in 2019 and is based on extensive in-country research and interviews. An Arabic version of the text with an updated introduction will soon be published. His first book, The Arab Gulf States: Beyond Oil and Islam, was published in 2010 by Lynne Rienner Press. He has also won multiple fellowships, including Fulbright grants to Syria, Turkey, and Malaysia.  

Foley said, “I’m thrilled to be joining AGSI as a non-resident fellow, especially because my new role there coincides with the institute’s 10th anniversary. During that time, Kristin Smith Diwan, Mary Casey-Baker, Ambassador Roebuck, and others at AGSI have been critical partners for my career as a scholar of the Gulf states, the Middle East, and the wider Muslim world. Not only did AGSI host a successful public event in 2019 to promote my book Changing Saudi Arabia: Arts, Culture and Society in the Kingdom, but the institute has published multiple pieces that I have authored focusing on the creative class in the Gulf states. Each time I have worked with AGSI on a project, the institute’s staff has consistently treated my ideas with respect, provided invaluable suggestions for sharpening the quality of my writing, and widely publicized my work, especially on social media – both in Arabic and English. Equally important, the artists, comedians, filmmakers, and others with whom I partner in the Gulf have told me that they greatly appreciate what AGSI provides for the region and the community that studies it. I look forward to working even closer with AGSI and its talented staff in the future in my new role there.” 

Roebuck said, “Sean has done some of the most unique, interesting work we have published here at AGSI, with its special focus on cultural developments in Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf. Whether writing about Gulf youth contributing to an independent music scene that challenges how the world views Gulf states or creating an indelible portrait of Superman with a Saudi accent, Sean has built bridges of understanding that help Americans see the Gulf with fresh insight. We feel privileged to welcome him as a non-resident fellow and look forward to strengthening our collaboration with him on programs and publications.” 

###  

The Arab Gulf States Institute is an independent, nonprofit institution dedicated to highlighting the importance of the relationship between the United States and the Gulf region through free and open exchange of multiple points of view on issues that concern the Gulf.  

AGSI strives to support this goal by:  

• Providing expert analysis and thoughtful debate on the economic, energy, environmental, security, social, cultural, and political dimensions of the Gulf Arab states as well as their relations with the United States and other countries.  

• Informing a global audience of policymakers, legislators, businesspeople, academics, media, youth, and others as the foundation for strategic decisions regarding this important region.  

• Employing multiple avenues to inform public understanding of the importance of the relationship between the United States and the Gulf Arab states.  

• Encouraging strong academic coverage by developing scholars who concentrate on the study of the region.