Charles F. Doran

Charles Doran is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of International Relations, Director of the Global Theory and History Program, and Director of Canadian Studies. He also oversees General International Relations and established the school's Global Politics and Religion Initiative.

Before joining the faculty in 1979, he was professor and director of the international relations program at Rice University. An analyst of structural change and security in world politics, Doran created the power cycle theory of state rise and decline, revolutionizing the static understanding of neo-realism. A symposium at the Indian Institute for Advanced Studies (Shimla, 2002) and an entire issue of International Political Science Review (2003) were devoted to it. It is also featured in The Encyclopedia of Political Science and in international relations textbooks worldwide.

His honors include: Donner Medal, Governor General’s International Award, and APSA Lifetime Achievement Award in Canadian Studies, and the International Studies Association’s Distinguished Scholar Award (Foreign Policy).

Doran has published over 100 referred articles and books on the Great Powers, origins of major war, Middle East conflict, oil politics, energy security, political economy, and contemporary evolving power cycles. He has directed major research projects on North American trade, Persian Gulf energy security, and US-German-Japanese relations.

He has consulted widely on international political security for the oil, banking, and chemical industries, and is a regular advisor to government and the press. Amidst strategic developments, he was called upon to lead policy assessments, testify before Congressional committees, and advise decision-makers regarding OPEC policy, Gulf security, Arctic security, global energy, and threat assessment rankings.