Haroon Ullah

Policy Planning Staff U.S. Department of State

  • Washington, D.C. DC

A scholar, diplomat and author of widely acclaimed Bargain From The Bazaar and Vying for Allah's Vote. Visit haroonullah.com.

Contact

Social

Biography

Haroon K. Ullah is a scholar, diplomat, and field researcher specializing in South Asia and the Middle East. Haroon grew up in a farming community in Washington State and was trained at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he served as a senior Belfer fellow and completed his MPA.

Haroon has a PhD in Political Science and Public Policy from the University of Michigan and was a William J. Fulbright fellow, a Harvard University presidential scholar, a National Security Education Program fellow, and a Woodrow Wilson Public Service fellow. He is also the author of Vying for Allah's Vote (Georgetown University Press, 2013).

His recent book, The Bargain From the Bazaar: A Family's Day of Reckoning, published in March 2014 by PublicAffairs, has received widespread praise and acclaim, including from the New York Review of Books, the Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones, Seattle Times, NPR and Publisher's Weekly. Haroon currently serves on Secretary Kerry's Policy Planning Staff at the US State Department, focusing on public diplomacy, strategic policy and countering violent extremism.

Industry Expertise

Media - Broadcast
Internet
Public Policy
International Trade and Development
Philanthropy
International Affairs
Motion Pictures and Film
Government Relations
Media - Online

Areas of Expertise

Politics
Human Rights
National Security
Political Science
Public Policy
Pakistan
Diplomacy
International Relations
Foreign Policy
International Rights

Accomplishments

U.S. William J. Fullbright Award for International Affairs

2003-01-01

Prestigious congressionally mandated award to explore civil society and governance reforms in North Africa and Morocco.

Harvard University President Scholarship

2002-01-01

Awarded by Harvard University

Term Member of Council on Foreign Relations

2014-06-01

Program for promising leaders in government, media, nongovernmental organizations, law, business, finance, and academia to engage in a sustained conversation on international affairs and U.S. foreign policy.

Education

University of Michigan

PhD

Comparative Politics and Public Policy

2008

Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government

Master's Degree

Public Administration in International Development

2002

Whitman College

B.A.

Politics

1999

Affiliations

  • U.S. Department of State
  • Harvard University
  • Council of Foreign Relations

Media Appearances

Being Middle Class in Pakistan

Marketplace  online

2014-03-11

Middle class life in Pakistan isn’t that different from middle class life in the United States, says Haroon Ullah. Or at least, he hopes you’ll come away with that message after reading his new book, “The Bargain at the Bazaar: A family’s day of reckoning in Lahore.”

The book follows the Reza family and their three sons as they attempt to maintain normalcy in an increasingly tense environment.

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Vying for Allah's Vote: Understanding Islamic Parties, Political Violence, and Extremism in Pakistan

The Heritage Foundation  online

2014-05-02

Speaking event hosted by the Heritage Foundation

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Why Haroon Ullah Is Optmistic About Pakistan's Future

NPR  radio

2014-03-10

Steve Scher talks with U.S. diplomat and Seattle native Haroon Ullah about his book “The Bargain from the Bazaar: A Family’s Day of Reckoning in Lahore."

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Event Appearances

Member to Member Lunch with Dr. Haroon Ullah: Rising Political Islam, Causes and Consequences for American Foreign Policy

World Affairs Council of Seattle  Seattle, WA

2014-05-23

Instant Issues

World Affairs Council of Western Mass. and Critical Connections  Springfield, MA

2014-05-23

Haroon Ullah: Political Violence and Extremism in Pakistan

International Relations Council of Kansas City, Saint Andrew Christian Church  Olathe, KS

2014-04-06

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Sample Talks

Divine Endorsement? Islamists, Voting Behavior and Political Violence

A look at the five myths about countering violent extremism and examining new trends in democratization.

A Journey from Small-Town America to the Middle East and South Asia

Exploring the global trends that influence America and its future.

Style