Dr. Umud Shokri is a Washington-based energy leader, energy strategist, and senior foreign policy advisor with more than two decades of experience analyzing global energy markets, energy security, and the geopolitics of oil and natural gas. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations, and his research and policy work focus on the intersection of energy markets, climate policy, energy transition, and international security. His expertise spans global oil and gas dynamics, clean energy technologies, energy supply chains, sanctions, infrastructure security, and the geopolitical consequences of the global energy transition.
Dr. Shokri currently serves as a Senior Visiting Fellow at George Mason University, where he contributes to research and policy discussions on global energy security, geopolitical risk, and energy transition. His work examines how shifts in energy markets, from oil and gas supply disruptions to emerging clean energy technologies, reshape foreign policy, strategic competition, and regional security. He is widely recognized for his analysis of energy developments in the Middle East, Eurasia, the Caspian Sea, Central Asia, and the Gulf region, particularly in relation to sanctions, energy diplomacy, infrastructure vulnerability, and regional energy integration.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Shokri has collaborated with government institutions, academic organizations, think tanks, and energy companies to develop strategies addressing evolving global energy challenges. His work includes policy research, strategic advisory roles, and published analysis on energy diplomacy, hydrocarbon geopolitics, energy infrastructure security, critical energy corridors, and the political economy of energy-exporting states. Among his notable contributions is U.S. Energy Diplomacy in the Caspian Sea Basin: Changing Trends Since 2001, which examines the strategic importance of energy cooperation, infrastructure development, and U.S. policy in Eurasia.
Dr. Shokri is also deeply engaged in advancing debates on energy transition and environmental sustainability. His research explores how governments and corporations can align energy strategies with climate policy, environmental, social, and governance frameworks, and long-term energy security needs. By integrating insights from geopolitics, market analysis, and technological change, he provides guidance on how states and companies can balance climate goals with the realities of global energy demand, supply security, and geopolitical competition.
In addition, Dr. Shokri has served as a Black Sea State Department Title VIII Fellow, conducting research on energy transition and regional energy security in the Caspian and Black Sea regions. His work examines Azerbaijan’s energy transition, COP29-related energy diplomacy, renewable energy development, carbon reduction strategies, and the role of the Caspian region in emerging energy corridors. Through engagement with policymakers, researchers, and industry experts, he provides analysis and policy recommendations that support sustainable energy development and strengthen regional energy resilience.
Dr. Shokri continues to publish new academic papers, policy analyses, and commentary on global energy markets, energy geopolitics, and security developments. His recent and forthcoming publications examine renewable energy megaprojects in the Gulf, energy transition in hydrocarbon-exporting states, Iran’s energy sector under sanctions, Caspian and Central Asian energy security, and the role of infrastructure resilience in a more volatile global energy order. His work helps inform policymakers, analysts, and industry leaders seeking to understand the changing relationship between energy, geopolitics, climate policy, and global economic stability.