Ilana Bet-El is a strategic adviser, writer and historian. A former UN official and senior adviser on the Balkans, she has worked extensively with both governments and clients in the private sector on geostrategic and policy issues related to security, defence and energy in the EU, Russia, Turkey and broader Europe, the Middle East and the Trans-Atlantic community. With a background in the media and academia, she has published widely, including a weekly column on EU defence and security. She holds a PhD in history from UCL, is a member of the WIIS (Women In International Security) Senior Advisory Board in Brussels, and a Visiting Fellow at King’s College London Department of War Studies.
Ilana Bet-El
Senior Associate Fellow
Content by Ilana Bet-El
Podcast
The Women Leaders podcast: Destruction and disorder
Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979 was a shock to the Middle East, with the Gulf states aligning with the US, and Iran cultivating a “Shia Crescent” in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Dina Esfandiary joins ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El to guide us through the historical and geographic complexities of Iranian-American hostilities.
Podcast
The Women Leaders podcast: Gisèle Pelicot and opposing objectification
Following the release of Gisèle Pelicot’s memoir and the revelations in the Epstein files still coming to light, we are reminded of a common theme: women remain the ultimate objects. Whilst most people feel deep outrage at these misogynistic crimes, they are often hard to talk about. In this episode of the Women Leaders Podcast, ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El is joined by journalists Katrin Bennhold of the New York Times and Elisa Braun of Euractiv, to discuss how these stories are reported and how journalism shapes the public understanding of sexual violence.
Podcast
The Women Leaders podcast: Iran at a crossroads
Iran is at a boiling point. In January, mass protests broke out across the country, and many thousands of people were wounded and killed. Meanwhile, the US has moved an aircraft carrier and a number of destroyers close to Iran in a military threat which remains unclear in its aims. To untangle these and many other threads, ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El welcomes back Iran specialist Roxane Farmanfarmaian, her co-Senior Associate Fellow at the ELN, for a deep and fascinating examination of Iran at a crossroads.