Dr H. A. Hellyer

A Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, Dr H.A. Hellyer is an internationally recognised analyst of geopolitics, security, and geoeconomics across the wider Arab world and Middle East region, Europe, and Southeast Asia, with more than twenty years of experience across governmental, corporate advisory, and academic environments. Following tenures at leading transatlantic policy institutions, including Brookings and the Carnegie Endowment, he now serves simultaneously as a Senior Fellow in Geopolitics and Security at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC, bringing transatlantic policy depth and rare cross-regional fluency to the analysis of political risk, regional order transformation, and strategic competition. Designated Deputy Convenor of the UK Government's Taskforce on Tackling Radicalisation, he was also appointed the first Economic & Social Research Council Fellow in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

Dr Hellyer's analysis is regularly sought by major international broadcasters, including CNN, the BBC, and Al Jazeera, and he has published in the Washington Post, New York Times, Financial Times, Foreign Policy, Politico, the Guardian, and the New Straits Times. He is the author of nine books and more than twenty book chapters, journal articles, and monographs for various academic presses.

In addition to public policy advisory, Dr Hellyer engages with global financial institutions, multinational firms, and sovereign actors on geopolitical and geoeconomic risk. His bespoke strategic insights have been sought by private sector leaders including HSBC and Boston Consulting Group, and he previously served as the first Arab-world-based Senior Practice Consultant at Gallup, analysing global public opinion data to inform corporate and governmental strategy.

Dr Hellyer advises at ministerial and senior executive level across multiple governments and international institutions. He has provided strategic counsel to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the Cabinet Office, and the Home Office; to European institutions including the EEAS; to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the State Department; and to governments across the Middle East and North Africa. He is regularly consulted by policymakers across Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia on geopolitical forecasting, crisis escalation, and strategic positioning.

Dr Hellyer holds academic affiliations at the University of Warwick (research-equivalent Associate Professor), the American University in Cairo (visiting Professor of Law), Harvard University's Kennedy School (Research Associate), the University of Cambridge (visiting Fellow, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies), and the University of Technology Malaysia (adjunct Professor at full professorial level). He holds a law degree and advanced training in international political economy from the University of Sheffield, and completed a multidisciplinary PhD in the social sciences at the University of Warwick as a UK ESRC scholar. In recognition of his scholarly and public impact, he was elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS), Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and an Honoree of the Diversity in National Security Network.

He can be reached via x.com/hahellyer or linkedin.com/in/hahellyer.

Diversity in National Security Network Honorees (2024): The Network is a bipartisan coalition of national security and foreign policy practitioners, based in Washington DC, particularly known for its annual lists identifying, promoting and recognising voices in the national security sector from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (2023): Founded in 1868, the RHS advances scholarly studies of history, promoting historical research in the United Kingdom and worldwide, representing historians of all kinds. Prominent members, indicating recognising scholarly authority in historical research, include William Dalrymple, David Olusoga, and Eric Hobsbawm.

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (2020): Founded in 1754, the Royal Society of Arts’ mission is to find cross practical solutions to social challenges through innovation, research, and collaboration. Prominent members, indicating broad societal impact, include Stephen Hawking, Nelson Mandela, and His Majesty, King Charles III.

RISSC-Georgetown University 500 (2017-onwards): A ‘who’s who’ of 500 prominent scholars, politicians, religious affairs officials, business elites, and cultural figures.