Ali Bakir is an Assistant Professor at Ibn Khaldon Centre for Humanities and Social Sciences at Qatar University. Bakir has over a decade of professional experience as a senior political analyst and consultant working with senior officials, decision-makers and stakeholders for governmental, non-governmental, and private sector institutions in several countries. He follows the geopolitical and security trends in the Middle East with a particular focus on Turkey’s foreign and defence policies, Turkey-Arab relations, foreign policies of GCC countries and Iran, great power politics, small states’ behaviour, and emerging unconventional risks and threats. He is a distinguished TV commentator on Turkish foreign policy and writes for several Arabic, English and Turkish platforms. Bakir has a PhD in political science and international relations. He recently contributed to a book chapter on the “Evolution of Turkey-Qatar Relations Amid a Growing Gulf Divide” published by Palgrave.