Ariel Cohen is a

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

focusing on political risk,

international security ''International Security'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of international and national security. It was founded in 1976 and is edited by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University and publis ...

and

energy policy Energy policies are the government's strategies and decisions regarding the Energy production, production, Energy distribution, distribution, and World energy supply and consumption, consumption of energy within a specific jurisdiction. Energy ...

, and the rule of law. Cohen currently serves as the managing director of the Energy, Growth, and Security Program] (EGS) at the International Tax and Investment Center (ITIC), an independent, nonprofit research and education organization founded in 1993 to promote tax reform and public-private initiatives to improve the investment climate in transition and developing economies. He is also a nonresident senior fellow in the Eurasia Center at the

Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...

. Until July 2014, Cohen was a senior research fellow at

The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (or simply Heritage) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, it took a leading role in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the Presi ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He specializes in Russia, Eurasia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.

Early life and education

Cohen was born in

Yalta Yalta (: ) is a resort town, resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crime ...

, Soviet Union. In 1986, he graduated

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...

's law school in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, Israel with a L.L.B. He received a M.A. in Law and Diplomacy in 1989, and a Ph.D. from

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. Fletcher is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations. As of 2017, the student bo ...

in 1993.

Career

Cohen has testified before committees of the U.S. Congress, including the Senate and House Foreign Relations Committees, the

House Armed Services Committee The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of ...

, the

House Judiciary Committee The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, f ...

, and the Helsinki Commission. He served as a policy adviser with the National Institute for Public Policy's Center for Deterrence Analysis. Cohen has consulted for

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian United States foreign aid, foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 19 ...

, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

, and

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

. Cohen testified in favor of the use of fossil fuels at the Hearing of the Committee on the Budget, “Denial, Disinformation, and Doublespeak: Big Oil’s Evolving Efforts to Avoid Accountability for Climate Change” on May 1, 2024. Cohen is a writer and commentator in the American and international media. He has appeared on CNN, NBC, CBS, FOX, C-SPAN, BBC-TV and Al Jazeera English, and Russian and Ukrainian national TV networks. He was a commentator on a

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

weekly radio and TV show for eight years. He is a contributing editor to ''

The National Interest ''The National Interest'' (''TNI'') is an American bimonthly international relations magazine edited by American journalist Jacob Heilbrunn and published by the Center for the National Interest, a public policy think tank based in Washington, ...

'' and a blogger for

. He has written guest columns for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France, for international English-speaking readers. It published under the name ''International Herald Tribune'' starting in 1967, but its ...

'', ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...

'', EurasiaNet, Valdai Discussion Club, and National Review Online. In Europe, Cohen's analyses have appeared in Kommersant, Izvestiya, Hurriyet, the popular Russian website Ezhenedelny Zhurnal, and many others. Cohen has written on financial corruption and foreign policy in Russia, and on U.S. security issues.

Select Bibliography

Books

*''The Russian Military and the Georgia War: Lessons and Implications'' (with Robert E. Hamilton and Strategic Studies Institute), (Military Bookshop, 2011) *''Kazakhstan: The Road to Independence'' (Central Asia Caucasus Institute, 2008, paperback) *''Kazakhstan: Energy Cooperation with Russia - Oil, Gas and Beyond'' (GMB Publishing, 2006, paperback) *''Eurasia in Balance'' (Ashgate, 2005, hardcover), *''Russian Imperialism: Development and Crisis'' (Praeger, 1996 – hardcover, 1998-paperback),

Essays

*"Russian Missiles to Syria Endanger U.S. Foreign Policy Goals",

, May 29, 2013 *"How More Economic Freedom Will Attract Investment to Kazakhstan and Central Asia", The Heritage Foundation, June 26, 2012 *"Reset Regret: Heritage Foundation Recommendations", The Heritage Foundation, August 5, 2011 *“Central Asian Terrorism: An Emerging Threat to U.S. Security” with Morgan Roach, The Heritage Foundation, June 13, 2011 *“Turkey after the Elections: Implications for U.S. Foreign Policy” with Sally McNamara, The Heritage Foundation, June 8, 2011

Testimonies

*"Time to Pause the Reset? Defending U.S. Interests in the Face of Russian Aggression", Foreign Affairs Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, July 7, 2011 *"European and Eurasian Energy: Developing Capabilities for Security and Prosperity, Subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia", Foreign Affairs Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, June 2, 2011 *"Foreign Policy and National Security Implications of Oil Dependence", Foreign Affairs Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, March 22, 2007

Current Appointments

* Member,

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

* Member, American Council on Germany

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Ariel 1959 births Living people American political scientists Israeli emigrants to the United States Israeli political scientists People from Yalta Soviet emigrants to Israel The Heritage Foundation people