Dr Andrew Parasiliti

Executive Director, IISS-US; Corresponding Director, IISS-Middle East

Main responsibilities:  Dr Parasiliti is Executive Director, IISS-US; Corresponding Director, IISS-Middle East; and a member of the IISS Directing Staff. He specialises in US foreign policy, including the role of Congress; US policy toward Iran, Iraq, and the Middle East; and the US economy. Dr Parasiliti also serves on the Board of Directors of both IISS-US and US Friends of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Background:  

Prior to joining IISS, Dr Parasiliti was a Principal, Government Affairs-International, at The BGR Group, a premier strategic consulting and government affairs firm, and an Executive Director of BGR Capital & Trade (2005-2009);  Foreign Policy Advisor to US Senator Chuck Hagel, who served on the Foreign Relations; Select Intelligence; and Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Committees (2001-2005); Director of the Middle East Initiative, John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University (1999-2001); and Director of Programs at the Middle East Institute (1996-1999).  He is an Emeritus member of the Board of Directors of the US-India Business Council and a former Director of the US-Serbia Business Council.   

Dr Parasiliti received a PhD from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, where he wrote his dissertation on Iraq; a MA in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia; and a BA, cum laude, from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he was a member of Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology.   

Originally from South Windsor, Connecticut, Dr Parasiliti lives in Arlington, Virginia, with his wife, Alexandra Avakian, a freelance photojournalist who works for National Geographic and other magazines, and their son, Sebastian. 

Recent Articles:

Survival:

• "Leaving Iraq," 54:1 (February-March 2012), pp.  127-133.

• "After Sanctions, Deter and Engage Iran", 52:5 (October-November 2010), pp.13-20

• "Iran:  Diplomacy and Deterrence," 51:5 (October-November 2009), pp. 5-13.

Strategic Comments:  

• "Libya win unlikely to convince war-weary US Congress" 17, 29 (August 2011)

• "Winds of change in Iraqi Kurdistan"17,11 (March 2011)

• "US presses ahead with Iran sanctions" 16,17 (May 2010)

• “Recovering Iraqi sovereignty: Washington sets priorities for 2010,” 15, 10 (December 2009)

• 'What now for Obama's Iran policy? Tighter Sanctions if Diplomacy Fails' 15, 5 (June 2009)

IISS Voices: 

• "Not a defeat just an end to 'the wrong war'" (03 November 2011) 

• "Foreign policy a footnote to US electoral agenda" (9 September 2011) 

• "US Sanctions on Syria Keep Coming"  (24 May 2011)

• "An ASEAN for the Gulf" (5 December 2010)

• "Clinton's Direct Message to to Iran" (4 December 2010)

• “Republicans and National Security:  Reading the Tea Leaves” (10 November 2010)

Opinion:

• "US pullout is on track in Iraq, but Obama won't get any electoral bounce" Des Moines Register, 01 October 2011 

• "Letter to the Editor: Why is a gas tax hike still a nonstarter?" Washington Post, 06 July 2011

• “A Start for bipartisan budget policy,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 25 March 2011.

• “Protests remind the US that a stable Iraq is not guaranteed” The National (UAE), 9 March 2011

• “One More Run at Engagement with Iran in Geneva,” The National (UAE), 1 December 2010.

• Let's make Iran sanctions a prelude to engagement", Houston Chronicle, 10 June 2010.

• "With pullout deadline near, now is no time to forget Iraq ", Houston Chronicle, 28 January 2010.

• "US should not give up on Iran diplomacy efforts ", Houston Chronicle, 31 October 2009.

• “Striking right balance on Iran,” Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2009.

Other:

• “Introduction.”  In Philip Auerswald, editor.  Iraq: 1990-2006 (Volume II): A Diplomatic History Through Documents (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009), pp. ix-xiv.

Date joined IISS:   March 2009

Contact:   Click here to contact Andrew Parasiliti