PAIK Seung-hoon is a Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of Middle East Studies, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul. He is also a Cooperative Professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy and an Advisory Committee Member of the National Intelligence Service. He was an Assistant Researcher at the Department of European & African Studies, Institute of Foreign Affairs & National Security (IFANS), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Seoul, Korea. He holds a B.A. in Arabic and an M.A. degree in Politics from the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul. and a Ph.D. in International Relations at Durham University.