Stephen Tankel was the EastWest Institute's first Davis Peace and Security Fellow. Prior to this, he was the Institute's Deputy Director of Policy Innovation and previously the Coordinator of Studies. He conducted and coordinated research on conflict studies and security studies, and led the Institute's Violent Extremism and Radicalization project.

Before EWI, Stephen worked with the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies in Egypt. His professional background includes work in the field of crisis management and as a political risk analyst for the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. Stephen also worked on a number of political campaigns and served as a presidential appointee in the Clinton Administration. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University and a Master of Science degree in global politics from the London School of Economics. Stephen is now pursuing a PhD at the Department of War Studies at King's College, London.