Zeyno Baran received her BA in political science and her MA in international economic development from Stanford University. Baran is Director of International Security and Energy Programs at Nixon Center. She joined the Center in January 2003 and established the Eurasia and Turkey Projects to help American policy makers and opinion makers better understand the region’s political, economic, and social dynamics and the US interests served by an effective partnership with key allies. Her current research focuses on strategies to thwart the spread of radical Islamist ideology in Europe and Eurasia and to promote democratic reform processes across Eurasia. Baran has recently published a monograph entitled Hizb ut-Tahrir: Islam’s Political Insurgency and has advised the US government on its new Muslim outreach strategy. Previously, Baran was director of the Caucasus Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). In recognition of her prominent contribution to the development of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the South Caucasus gas pipeline projects, she was awarded with the Order of Honor by Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze in May 2003.