Zeyno Baran

Zeyno Baran is Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute’s Center for Islam, Democracy and the Future of the Muslim World and Director of the Center for Eurasian Policy (CEP). She is also a specialist with World Organization for Resource Development and Education (WORDE), which aims to combat the misunderstanding, miscommunication and disinformation between both Muslim and Western societies, by providing effective, long-term solutions for resource development, educational reform, international security and public policy.

Baran previously directed the International Security and Energy Programs at The Nixon Center; and before then, the Georgia Forum and the Caucasus Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Baran has written and spoken frequently on the need to distinguish between Islam (the religion) and Islamism (the political ideology). In 2006, in response to being asked repeatedly who the moderate Muslims were and why they didn’t speak up, she coauthored a “Muslim Manifesto” to denounce violence and extremism in the name of Islam. Baran promotes the fusion of tolerant faith and critical thinking with secular democratic rule to thwart the spread of radical Islamist ideology.

For more than a decade she has also written extensively on political developments in the Caucasus and Central Asia as well as European and Caspian oil and gas pipeline projects; she testified before the US Congress and drafted reports for the European Parliament. Her most recent study for the European Parliament is entitled, “Security Aspects of the South Stream Project”, October 2008.

In recognition of her prominent contribution to the development of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the South Caucasus gas pipeline projects, Baran was awarded with the Order of Honor by Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze in May 2003. In July, she was also awarded the Lithuanian Millennium Star for promoting solidarity among the European States in the field of energy security.

Her work has appeared in a variety of publications, including Foreign Affairs, the National Interest, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, National Review, The International Herald Tribune, and several Turkish, European, and Eurasian newspapers; and she regularly appears on major radio and television networks and programs, including CNN, Fox News, BBC, the NewsHour, and Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria.

Baran received her M.A. in international economic development and her B.A. in political science from Stanford University.