Faysal Itani
Director, Human Security Unit
Faysal Itani is the Director of the Human Security Unit at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy. He is also an adjunct professor of Middle East politics at Georgetown University.
Itani was born and grew up in Beirut, Lebanon and has lived and worked in several Middle East countries. Before joining the New Lines Institute, he was Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council working on U.S. policy in the Middle East. He has also worked in private intelligence as a risk analyst advising governments, corporations, and international organizations on political, economic, and security issues in the Middle East. Itani has repeatedly briefed the United States government and its allies on the conflict in Syria and its effects on their interests. He has been widely published and quoted in prominent media including The New York Times, TIME, Politico, The Washington Post, CNN, US News, Huffington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
Itani holds an MA in strategic studies and international economics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, a certificate in public policy from Georgetown University, and a BA in business from the American University of Beirut. He tweets at @faysalitani.
Latest Articles
Inside the Lebanese Political System: the Operations of the Anti-Regime Opposition
Faysal Itani sits down with Lebanese political activist Alaa Sayeg to discuss Lebanese politics amid the worst economic situation in the country’s history. Viewed through the lens of Sayeg’s personal experience as an opposition politician in the May 2022 national elections, the discussion highlights the difficulties anti-regime activists face in the rigid Lebanese political system, as well as Hezbollah's role in the country.
Middle East Minorities and the Case of Lebanon
In this episode of Roamings and Reflections, Director of Newlines Institute’s Human Security Unit Faysal Itani interviews Flavius Mihaies about his travels through Lebanon.
Lebanon: The Regime and Its Future After the Beirut Blast
Kamran Bokhari and Faysal Itani discuss Lebanon’s multiple crises and the Beirut port explosion that served as a culmination of the problems the country is facing.
The Makhlouf Incident and the Infighting Within the Syrian Regime
The rift reveals deepening dysfunction amid unprecedented pressure on the Assad regime and, if not resolved quickly, raises the prospect of a long, complicated intra-regime conflict.