Dr. Saqer AlKhalifa

Dr. Saqer AlKhalifa is a professor at the American University of Bahrain and a senior advisor at Bahrain’s Ministry of Education. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Claremont Graduate University and an M.A. from The American University in Washington, D.C.

A published scholar and international speaker, he has spent over two decades designing reforms across education, sport governance, and youth development. He is a 30-time IRONMAN finisher, a graduate of The Citadel, and the founder of both the Bahrain Triathlon Federation and the Bahrain School and Collegiate Sports Federation.

Shackles of Democracy (2026) argues that democracy as we know it has no future, and builds that case on twenty-two statistical models from public data, all published in full for anyone to check. The Trust Trap: Escaping the Systems Keeping Countries Poor, with a foreword by Dr. Paul J. Zak, treats trust as infrastructure a country can design, with case studies from Bahrain, Rwanda, Finland, Estonia, Japan and the United States.

He appears on Bahrain TV and speaks to universities, ministries and companies on institutional reform, education and trust. Recent interviews and talks are on his YouTube channel, and speaking and media requests go through the speaking page. He also mentors students and professionals through four mentorship routes, one of which is free.

Alongside the writing he builds free tools for students and job seekers in Bahrain and the Gulf, all in Arabic and English: Youth Compass, an assessment and nine guides for choosing a university major, a directory of verified internships across four countries, and a board for short work and full time vacancies. None of them charges anything or asks for a payment.

His doctoral dissertation is available in full: read the dissertation (PDF).

contact@saqeralkhalifa.com