Caroline Rose is the Director of the Strategic Blind Spots Portfolio at the New Lines Institute, where she leads and produces research on the intersection of defense, security, illicit trades, and geopolitical landscapes from Europe to the Middle East and North Africa. Her portfolio at the New Lines Institute includes two projects: the Project on the Captagon Trade and the Project on Post-Withdrawal Security Landscapes. Previously at the New Lines Institute, Rose served as the head of the Power Vacuums Program. As of fall 2023, she is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service teaching a graduate course on the nexus of illicit economies, armed conflict, and insecurity.
Prior to joining the New Lines Institute, Rose served as an analyst at the forecasting firm and publication Geopolitical Futures, where she worked on political, economic, and defense developments in the Middle East and Europe, with a focus on the Mediterranean and the Levant. She is also the author of a special policy report on the trade of the illicit drug “captagon” in the Mediterranean and Gulf and its effect on security challenges – a culmination of her studies and field work as Research Associate for the LSE International Drug Policy Unit’s Middle East Initiative.
Rose has repeatedly briefed U.S. and allied ministries, intelligence agencies, embassies, and legislative bodies on the captagon drug trade, insecurity in the Middle East, and their effects on U.S. and partner interests. Her commentary and work on defense issues, security challenges, and geopolitical developments have been featured in The Washington Post, CNN, BBC News, The Sunday Times, Foreign Policy, Politico, Al Jazeera, BBC World Service, Voice of America, Deutsche Welle, Australian Broadcasting Company, The Financial Times, The Independent, and other outlets.
Rose holds a Master of Science in International History from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the American University’s School of International Service. She tweets at @CarolineRose8.
This Contours episode explores the intersection of public health, illicit economies, and normalization with Syria's Assad regime.
Caroline Rose is the Director of the Strategic Blind Spots Portfolio at the New Lines Institute, where she leads and
The Syrian regime claims it is cracking down on narcotics in the country, but an analysis reveals a gulf between its words and actions.
Smugglers of the drug are changing tactics and expanding the trade’s reach.
