Afshin Molavi is a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington DC, where he writes broadly on global geopolitics, the geo-economic ties that bind nations and societies, and key trends shaping our future. He has taught graduate level courses at SAIS, leads senior-level executive education courses for U.S government officials, and regularly serves as a keynote speaker or moderator at major international conferences.
Over a career spanning nearly thirty years, Molavi has worked as a journalist, geopolitical risk analyst, think tank fellow, professor, executive education leader, syndicated columnist, documentary filmmaker, and advisor to companies and governments worldwide. He has lived in and worked and traveled to dozens of countries across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Over the years, Molavi’s articles and essays on a wide range of global topics have been published in both major publications and academic journals, including Bloomberg, the Washington Post, Businessweek, Reuters, Financial Times, The Economist, The Journal of Commerce, National Geographic, Smithsonian, The SAIS Review, Columbia Journal of International Affairs, and more. He has been a commentator in media outlets ranging from the BBC and CNN to multiple international media outlets.
Molavi has worked as a staff member or fellow at the following institutions over his career: Johns Hopkins SAIS (Current); The Hoover Institution of Stanford University; The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; Oxford Analytica; emerge85 Lab; The New America Foundation; The World Bank – International Finance Corporation; Reuters.
Today, Molavi spends his work time engaged in his academic/policy post at Johns Hopkins SAIS, a convener and moderator of seminars for senior US officials and international diplomats, public speaking engagements, editor and founder of the Emerging World newsletter and contributing writer for Forbes.
Molavi brings a unique blend of experience across journalism, strategic advisory, international development, and think tanks. He served as a senior global advisor at Oxford Analytica, where he led macro-risk analysis on four major nodes of global systemic risk: China, the United States, the European Union, and global energy markets. He has also held senior roles at the New America Foundation and directed the World Economy Roundtable, where he convened global economic dialogues with a special focus on Asia-Pacific growth and the Middle East-Asia economic corridor. He has also been honored as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in Davos.
He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and two children. When he’s not tracking macro trends or writing dispatches, he’s on the tennis court or basketball court, or flipping through vintage newspapers and magazines.
