Dr. Ilai Saltzmanis Director of the Gildenhorn Institute for Israel Studies and an Associate Research Professor at the University of Maryland, United States, as well as a member of the board of directors of  Mitvim – The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies. He is one of the world’s leading experts on the security and foreign policy of Israel and the United States, and on the geopolitical dynamics of the Middle East. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Haifa and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is the author of the book “Securitizing Balance of Power Theory: A Polymorphic Reconceptualization”, and other essays on international relations theories and global security. His analyses appear regularly in the “Los Angeles Times”, “Haaretz”, “The Jerusalem Post”, and other major media outlets.