Dr. Umud Shokri is a Washington, D.C.-based energy strategist, geopolitical analyst, and foreign policy adviser with more than 25 years of experience in global energy markets, energy security, and international relations. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations and serves as a Senior Visiting Fellow at George Mason University.
His research examines how energy markets, geopolitical competition, and the energy transition shape foreign policy and regional security. His expertise includes oil and natural gas, renewable energy, sanctions, energy diplomacy, supply chains, infrastructure security, and regional energy corridors, with a particular focus on the Middle East, the Caspian Sea, Central Asia, Eurasia, and the Gulf.
Dr. Shokri is the author of U.S. Energy Diplomacy in the Caspian Sea Basin: Changing Trends Since 2001. His forthcoming book, Iran’s Energy Transition Under Constraint: War, Sanctions, and Systemic Vulnerability, will be published by Springer Nature. It examines Iran’s energy crisis, the effects of sanctions and geopolitical constraints, and the prospects for energy reform and regional cooperation.
His recent research includes a Utilities Policy study comparing renewable energy development in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran, as well as publications on Gulf–Asia-Pacific energy relations and Iran’s gas sector. His analysis and commentary have been featured by international media outlets including The Associated Press, Reuters, Newsweek, Bloomberg, The New York Times, the Financial Times, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, and Al Jazeera.
Dr. Shokri was a 2024 U.S. Department of State Black Sea Fellow, with mentoring support from the Middle East Institute. His fellowship research focused on Azerbaijan’s energy transition, COP29, and energy security in the Caspian and Black Sea regions. Across his academic and policy work, he examines how energy infrastructure, sanctions, conflict, and regional cooperation affect energy security and economic resilience.