Will Todman

Chief of Staff, Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department; and Senior Fellow, Middle East Program
Will Todman

Will Todman is the chief of staff of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and a senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He was previously deputy director of the Middle East Program. He has over a decade of experience working on conflict, governance, and displacement in the Middle East, and has conducted field research in 12 countries across the region. Will has written for, contributed to, and commented on leading outlets, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, BBC, CBS, and CNN, and he has testified to the UK Parliament. He has also taught and lectured graduate students at various universities. Before joining CSIS in 2016, Will worked at the Institute for the Study of International Migration, for the office of the UN special envoy to Syria, and at the British Embassy in Beirut. Will is a Penn Kemble fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy, a Global Diversity in International Affairs fellow at the Atlantic Council, and a fellow at the Centre for Syrian Studies at St. Andrews University. He also co-founded a nonprofit organization that works with refugees and immigrants in the Washington DC area, which he led for seven years. Will holds a BA in Arabic and modern Hebrew from Oxford University and an MA in Arab Studies from Georgetown University, where he studied Persian intensively. He is also proficient in French and Spanish.

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State of Play

Has the Iran war upended U.S.-China negotiations?

Scott Kennedy and Brian Hart join Will to assess the war's impact on President Trump and Xi Jingping's summit.

Podcast Episode by Will Todman, Scott Kennedy, and Brian Hart — April 9, 2026

Photo: iLab/CSIS
State of Play

What Are the Hidden Costs of the War with Iran?

Emily Harding, Caitlin Welsh, and Mona Yacoubian joined Will to discuss the short- and long-term implications of the war with Iran.

Podcast Episode by Will Todman, Emily Harding, Mona Yacoubian, and Caitlin Welsh — March 25, 2026

Photo: iLab/CSIS
State of Play

How did Japan Navigate Trump's Pressure on Iran?

Nick Szechenyi joins Will to discuss what Takaichi had hoped to achieve in her visit, how she handled Trump's pressure, and the playbook she's developing for U.S. allies.

Podcast Episode by Will Todman and Nicholas Szechenyi — March 20, 2026

Photo: iLab/CSIS
State of Play

Are Russia and China Benefitting from the War with Iran?

Will is joined by Bonny Lin and Maria Snegovaya to discuss both China and Russia's strategic openings and costs in the war with Iran.

Podcast Episode by Will Todman, Bonny Lin, and Maria Snegovaya — March 17, 2026

Photo: iLab/CSIS

Russia and China: Gaining from the war with Iran? | State of Play

The CSIS Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department invites you to a live episode of State of Play to explore the implications of the war with Iran for China and Russia on Monday 16 March at 4:00pm. The discussion will feature Dr. Bonny Lin, Dr. Maria Snegovaya, and Will Todman.

Event — March 16, 2026

State of Play

Is Cuba Next?

Ryan Berg and Carrie Filipetti join Will to discuss President Trump’s goals in Cuba, his range of options, and the risks and benefits of regime change. 

Podcast Episode by Will Todman and Ryan C. Berg — March 12, 2026

Photo: iLab/CSIS