Charles F. Doran

Charles F. Doran is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of International Relations at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C., where he directs the Global Theory and History Program, the International Political Economy Program, and the Academic Program in Canadian Studies.

Dr. Doran has authored more than 100 books and articles, including Myth, Oil, and Politics, Forgotten Partnership, Power Cycle Theory and Global Politics, and, notably, Systems in Crisis which Cambridge University Press nominated for the Gelber Prize in 1991.  (Each press nominates one book for the Gelber Prize annually.)  The International Political Science Association (IPSA) devoted an entire special issue to power cycle theory in 2003. This month, the Rand Corporation published an important strategic assessment of Doran’s power cycle theory and the risk of great power war in the 21st century, utilizing the latest empirical data on measures of state power and established scenarios about climate change. 

Amidst strategic developments, Doran has been called to lead policy assessments, testify before committees of Congress, and advise decision-makers regarding OPEC policy, Gulf security, Arctic security, global energy, and threat assessment rankings.  A pioneer in political risk analysis, he also consulted widely for the oil, banking, and chemical industries.  C-Span features on-line fifteen of his many televised interviews.  Doran’s writings have been translated into nine languages.

Seymour Martin Lipset, himself the author of two books on Canada, called Doran “the American who knows the most about Canada.”  For his latest book on Canada, Doran was dubbed “the American de Toqueville of Canada.”

Dr. Doran has received the Governor Generals International Award, the Donner Medal, and the American Political Science Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Canadian Studies.  From the 6000-member International Studies Association, he received the Distinguished Scholar Award for Foreign Policy.  Doran is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, co-directed one CFR Task Force, and was a contributing member to a second.  In 1991, he was elected to the Cosmos Club for “meritorious original work.”