Dr Tobias Borck

Dr Tobias Borck is the Middle East Lead, Donor Relations at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and a Senior Associate Fellow at RUSI. He was Senior Research Fellow for Middle East Security Studies at the Institute until January 2024. Besides conducting research, he co-led the development and delivery of the RUSI Leadership Centre’s programme of executive education training courses, including for diplomats, military personnel, and security professionals from the Middle East and beyond.

Tobias’ research interests include the international relations of the Middle East, and specifically the foreign, defence and security policies of regional states. His book Seeking Stability Amidst Disorder: The Foreign Policies of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, 2010-2020 was published by Hurst in 2023. His work has also focused on extra-regional powers’ engagement in the Middle East, including the regional foreign policies of the UK, Germany, and Russia, and on the interplay of climate change and climate action (and the global energy transition) in the region.

Tobias holds a PhD in Middle East Politics at the University Exeter; his thesis examined the contemporary foreign policies of the Gulf Arab monarchies. He also holds degrees in Arabic and Middle East Studies (BA) and Applied Security Strategy (MA) from the University of Exeter, and is an alumnus of the German National Academic Foundation. He has spent time studying and working in Egypt, Morocco and Jordan and has travelled extensively in the region.