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Ben Fishman

  • Steven D. Levy Senior Fellow
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Ben Fishman
Download High-Resolution Portrait

Ben Fishman is the Steven D. Levy Senior Fellow in the Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics at The Washington Institute, where he focuses on North Africa.

He served from 2009 to 2013 on the National Security Council, where he held several posts, including director for North Africa and Jordan; director for Libya; and executive assistant to Ambassador Dennis Ross. As director for Libya, he coordinated  U.S. support for Libya's revolution. He also supported President Obama's 2013 visit to Jordan and coordinated the $1 billion U.S. assistance package to the Hashemite Kingdom. In 2009, he served at the State Department in the office charged with developing policy toward Iran and the Gulf states. Since leaving government, he was a consulting senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, where he edited North Africa in Transition: the Struggle for Democracies and Institutions, and was an adjunct international security and defense policy analyst at the RAND Corporation focused on security challenges to North Africa. Fishman is an adjunct assistance professor for security studies at Georgetown University. He first worked at the Washington Institute from 2003-2008 where he was a research associate and special assistant to Ambassador Ross.

Ben Fishman
Download High-Resolution Portrait

Contact

(202) 230-9550 (media inquiries only)
(202) 452-0650 (other inquiries)

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Recent Policy Analysis by Ben Fishman

Articles & Testimony
Libya Is At Its Lowest Point Since 2020
May 9, 2025
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  • Ben Fishman
A local resident walks in front of a sign promoting a USAID-funded project in Hebron - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Trump’s Foreign Assistance Review Prioritizes Funding Over Policy
Feb 5, 2025
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  • Ben Fishman
Brief Analysis
Egypt’s Economic Reforms Must Continue
Oct 30, 2024
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  • Ben Fishman
Central Bank of Libya headquarters building - source: Wikimedia Commons
Articles & Testimony
Banks Not Bullets: A New War Front Opens Up in Libya
Sep 4, 2024
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  • Ben Fishman
Brief Analysis
Another One-Day War? What the Latest Hezbollah-Israel Clash Reveals About Deterrence and Escalation
Aug 27, 2024
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  • Ben Fishman
  • Hanin Ghaddar
  • Assaf Orion
  • Dennis Ross
Central Bank of Libya headquarters building - source: Wikimedia Commons
Articles & Testimony
All of Libya Held Hostage by Gunmen Targeting the Central Bank
Aug 22, 2024
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  • Ben Fishman
All Policy Analysis by Ben Fishman
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