Anas Iqtait is a political economist whose work examines the geoeconomics of the contemporary Middle East, with a particular focus on fiscal governance and the diffusion of financial technologies across the region. His research integrates macro-level political-economic analysis with ground-level institutional study, bridging area studies and comparative political-economy scholarship.

Before commencing his doctoral studies, he managed a regional investment portfolio comprising leading Middle Eastern public and private equity firms from his base at the Dubai International Financial Centre. He also worked in Jerusalem on economic development and humanitarian programmes with the United Nations OCHA, Oxfam, and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

Anas co-founded and serves as Chief Editor of the Near East Policy Forum at ANU, and until 2024 was a non-resident scholar with the Middle East Institute (USA) and a research associate with the Economic Research Forum (Egypt). His monograph, Funding and the Quest for Sovereignty in Palestine (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023), examines the political economy of public revenues in the Palestinian state-building context. A regular media commentator on Middle Eastern geopolitics and geoeconomics, his analyses have appeared in Foreign Policy, BBC, Al Jazeera English, ABC, SBS, Channel NewsAsia, the Lowy Institute, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Middle East Council on Global Affairs and The Washington Post.

Research Interests

• Political economy, trade and geoeconomics of the Middle East
• Governance, taxation, and fiscal-policy dynamics in the Middle East
• Digital finance and fintech regulation
• Foreign aid and development
• Conflict and war economics

Qualifications

PhD Australian National University; MA Seoul National University; BS Methodist University

PhD Supervision

• Primary Supervisor: The Political Economy of Islamic Banking in Indonesia (ANU; completed 2024)
• Primary Supervisor: Power Centralisation & Economic Diversification in Saudi Arabia under Vision 2030 (ANU; completed 2024)
• Chair of Panel: Factors Influencing Women’s Contribution to Corporate Boards in the UAE (ANU, 2023-present)
• Associate Supervisor: The Geopolitical Economy of Sport in the Gulf Cooperation Council Region (ANU, 2024-present)