• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [],
  "type": "pressRelease",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [
    "Arab Awakening"
  ],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "MEP",
  "programs": [
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Middle East",
    "North Africa"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform"
  ]
}
REQUIRED IMAGE

REQUIRED IMAGE

Press Release

Carnegie announces new Middle East scholars

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace today announced the hiring of two new Middle East experts, Katherine Wilkens and Frederic Wehrey, further strengthening one of Washington’s premier Middle East programs.

Link Copied
Published on Jun 26, 2012
Program mobile hero image

Program

Middle East

The Middle East Program in Washington combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.

Learn More

WASHINGTON—Carnegie Endowment for International Peace today announced the hiring of two new Middle East experts, Katherine Wilkens and Frederic Wehrey, further strengthening one of Washington’s premier Middle East programs.

Making the announcement, Marwan Muasher, vice president for studies, said:

“As the dramatic events of the last sixteen months continue to unfold in the Arab world, Carnegie’s Middle East Program has worked to deliver groundbreaking analysis of the political, economic, and security challenges gripping the region and their implications for policymakers. Between our offices in Washington and Beirut, we have built a remarkable team of experts that today grows that much stronger. Katherine and Fred are both enormously gifted scholars whose presence will enable us to expand the breadth and depth of our activities both here in Washington and at our Beirut Center. We are indeed fortunate to have them onboard at this critical time.”

Katherine Wilkens will serve as deputy director of Carnegie’s Middle East Program, overseeing the program’s day-to-day operations. She joins Carnegie from AMIDEAST, an American nonprofit organization engaged in education, training, and capacity building in the Middle East and North Africa. Earlier in her career, she served at senior levels in the executive and legislative branches, including as staff director of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East.

Frederic Wehrey joins Carnegie as a senior associate in the Middle East Program. He joins us from RAND Corporation where his research focused on political reform and security issues in the Arab Gulf states, Libya, and U.S. policy in the Middle East more broadly.

Founded in 1910, Carnegie is America’s oldest international affairs think tank. Carnegie is in the process of building the world’s first truly global think tank with research centers in Washington, Moscow, Beijing, Beirut, and Brussels.

In addition to an outstanding Middle East Program based in Washington, the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut was recently named the leading think tank in the region for the third straight year in the University of Pennsylvania’s 2011 Global Go To Think Tank Rankings.

Press Contact: Karly Schledwitz, +1 202 939 2233, pressoffice@ceip.org

Political ReformMiddle EastNorth Africa

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    How to Join the EU in Three Easy Steps

    Montenegro and Albania are frontrunners for EU enlargement in the Western Balkans, but they can’t just sit back and wait. To meet their 2030 accession ambitions, they must make a strong positive case.

      Dimitar Bechev, Iliriana Gjoni

  • Female farm labourers pick strawberries in the Kenitra province country side of Morocco as the world marks the International Women's Day on March 8, 2017.
    Article
    Climate Change, Gender, and Inequality in Morocco’s Souss-Massa Region

    For Morocco, integrating gender into climate governance is not simply a matter of social justice. It is a strategic imperative for effective adaptation.

      Fadwa Rajoauni

  • Man standing next to a pile of burned cars
    Commentary
    Emissary
    The Myriad Problems With the Iran Ceasefire

    Four Middle East experts analyze the region’s reactions and next steps.

      • Andrew Leber
      • Eric Lob
      • +1

      Amr Hamzawy, Andrew Leber, Eric Lob, …

  •  A machine gun of a Houthi soldier mounted on a police vehicle next to a billboard depicting the U.S. president Donald Trump and Mohammed Bin Salman, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, during a protest staged to show support to Iran against the U.S.-Israel war on March 27, 2026 in Sana'a, Yemen.
    Collection
    The Iran War’s Global Reach

    As the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran continues, Carnegie scholars contribute cutting-edge analysis on the events of the war and their wide-reaching implications. From the impact on Iran and its immediate neighbors to the responses from Gulf states to fuel and fertilizer shortages caused by the effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, the war is reshaping Middle East alliances and creating shockwaves around the world. Carnegie experts analyze it all.

  •  A machine gun of a Houthi soldier mounted on a police vehicle next to a billboard depicting the U.S. president Donald Trump and Mohammed Bin Salman, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, during a protest staged to show support to Iran against the U.S.-Israel war on March 27, 2026 in Sana'a, Yemen.
    Article
    Amid Iran War, Gulf Countries Slow the Pace of Reforms

    The return of war as the organizing factor in Middle Eastern politics has predictable consequences: governments are prioritizing regime stability and becoming averse to political and social reform.

      • Sarah Yerkes

      Sarah Yerkes, Amr Hamzawy

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600Fax: 202 483 1840
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.