Adam Gallagher is the managing editor for Public Affairs and Communications at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Most recently he was an editorial manager at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems and was previously with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Middle East Program. Gallagher has also worked as an analyst and writer at a defense consultancy monitoring local and international media reporting on Afghanistan. He has been an accredited election observer in Tunisia (2014), Burma (2015) and Liberia (2017).

His writing and analysis on U.S. politics, foreign policy and international relations has appeared in the Washington Post, the Hill, the National Interest, World Politics Review, the American Prospect, Small Wars Journal, the Diplomat, Voice of America, the Huffington Post, International Policy Digest, Indo-Asian News Service, the International Business Times and for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the Urban History Association, among other outlets.

He has a bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy from Ohio Northern University and a master’s degree in international relations from George Mason University.

Publications By Adam

Is a Saudi-Israel Normalization Agreement on the Horizon?

Is a Saudi-Israel Normalization Agreement on the Horizon?

Thursday, September 28, 2023

By: Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen;  Ambassador Hesham Youssef;  Robert Barron;  Adam Gallagher

In recent months, a drumbeat has built around the U.S. effort to negotiate a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The deal would be a tectonic shift in Middle East geopolitics, but also carries major implications for other actors beyond the three negotiating parties. Israel would, of course, benefit from normalized relations with the Saudis — long seen as the “holy grail” of potential normalization agreements for the country. The Saudis, in turn, would see their interests advanced through strengthened U.S partnership in key areas. But this deal could also have serious implications for the future of the Palestinian national movement and, further afield, for the role of China in the Middle East.

Type: Analysis

Peace Processes

Why the BRICS Summit Could Be a Big Deal

Why the BRICS Summit Could Be a Big Deal

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

By: Andrew Cheatham;  Adam Gallagher

The leaders of the so-called BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are gathering in Johannesburg this week in what is likely to be pivotal meeting for the bloc’s trajectory. Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending due to an International Criminal Court warrant. But Moscow and Beijing will be pushing for the group’s expansion in a bid to strengthen the bloc as an alternative to the U.S.-led liberal international order. Over 40 countries have applied to join. But there is division within the five members. Brazil and India fear that expansion will dilute their influence and impact their nonaligned foreign policies.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

What Does Qin Gang’s Removal Mean for China’s Foreign Policy?

What Does Qin Gang’s Removal Mean for China’s Foreign Policy?

Thursday, July 27, 2023

By: Rosie Levine;  Andrew Scobell, Ph.D.;  Adam Gallagher

Speculation has run rampant the last month over the whereabouts of China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang. Rumors ranged from the salacious (he had an affair) to the mundane, while the official line states that he is dealing with health problems. On Tuesday, China officially replaced Qin with his predecessor, Wang Yi, who leads the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) foreign policy apparatus. Qin’s removal from office, and the erasure of references to him and his activities on official Chinese government websites, have only furthered interest into what happened. Beyond the political intrigue, the more substantive question is what this means for China’s diplomacy.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

Is China Preparing to Make a Run at Israeli-Palestinian Peace?

Is China Preparing to Make a Run at Israeli-Palestinian Peace?

Thursday, June 22, 2023

By: Adam Gallagher

Since April of last year, Xi Jinping and China’s foreign policy apparatus have been touting the Chinese leader’s vision of an alternative to the U.S.-led global security order, dubbed the Global Security Initiative (GSI). While Beijing has incrementally elaborated on Xi’s GSI, it remains an inchoate, fuzzy concept. What is clear is that Beijing wants to be seen as a global force for peace and stability that is capable of resolving international issues that appeared intractable under the U.S.-led security order. And it has repeatedly pointed to the detente it brokered between longtime foes Iran and Saudi Arabia as an example of its peacemaking prowess. As China deepens its involvement in the Middle East and campaigns for the GSI, is it gearing up to take on one of the region’s most vexing challenges, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Type: Analysis

Global PolicyPeace Processes

Will the ‘Washington Declaration’ Deter North Korea?

Will the ‘Washington Declaration’ Deter North Korea?

Thursday, April 27, 2023

By: Frank Aum;  Adam Gallagher

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is in Washington this week as the United States and South Korea celebrate 70 years of bilateral ties. Yoon’s visit is only the second state visit hosted by the Biden administration and the first South Korean state visit in 12 years. While there have been some recent strains in the relationship over U.S. trade and semiconductor policy and Seoul’s support for Ukraine, the focus of the bilateral summit was on the threat posed by North Korea. Although the summit ostensibly achieved both sides’ desired security deliverables related to deterrence, reassurance and nonproliferation, these outcomes will likely not provide enduring solutions to the North Korea challenge.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionGlobal Policy

View All