Alumni Spotlight: Moeed Yusuf Makes Policy Waves
Dr. Moeed Yusuf has already accomplished many things in his still-young career. He is the Director of South Asia Programs for the U. S. Institute of Peace (USIP), the editor of four books, with a single-authored book on the U.S. role in the India-Pakistan nuclear crises on the way, and a key player in policy thinking and development in both Washington and Islamabad, Pakistan.
He is also a Boston University – and Pardee School – alumnus, with a Masters in International Relations from what is now the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and later a PhD in Political Science.
None of this was something that Yusuf was expected to do.
“I came from a family of physicians: my grandparents, parents, my sister. And I think my family very much wanted me to follow in that path. It was the safest bet and the done thing,” said Yusuf. “But in Pakistan, politics is the national pastime. It’s what you discuss when you’re sitting around drinking tea. I was always fascinated by it and I knew that was a world I would enjoy. My sister was instrumental in convincing my parents and getting me a break.”
Yusuf’s winding, multinational path to policy development began in his childhood home in Pakistan, where he self-published a small newspaper about home gossip, written by hand and Xeroxed for circulation among his household members, until his parents objected. It brought him to the U.S. as an undergrad, sending him to a liberal arts college on a golf scholarship. But his dream to play golf for life changed forever on September 11, 2001.
“Suddenly, getting sponsorships for a Pakistani trying to break through on the golf circuit was unthinkable,” Yusuf said. “I decided to do something I had been passionate about for years; international politics and policy.”
That decision eventually brought him to Boston University’s International Relations program, the predecessor of the Pardee School of Global Studies, in 2003. He met Dean Adil Najam, then an Assistant Professor and fellow Pakistan transplant, who ever since has been a mentor and friend. Prof. Najam encouraged Yusuf to return to Pakistan after graduation to get on-the-ground experience. He interned at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. as a student, and worked at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute in Islamabad after he graduated.
“I came back to the U.S. in 2007 as a guest scholar at Brookings.” And soon he was back at Boston University, working on his PhD in political science with Prof. Najam as his doctoral supervisor. “Between 2007-2009, I was also a Fellow at the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, and concurrently at the Kennedy School. I left Boston in late-2009, and since then I have been at the U. S. Institute of Peace.”
In the course of this meteoric career, Yusuf has experienced both success and frustration. Some of the policies he outlined in his 2014 book Pakistan’s Counterterrorism Challenge and other publications and white papers have been adopted, but he is honest about the expectations versus the reality of the policy profession.
“Our job is to make sure we put out information useful to policymakers, whether in reports, private briefings, or task forces. But if you can see even 2 to 3 percent of your work being taken seriously and generating policy influence, that’s good,” Yusuf said. “The influence you have in this field is intangible, most of the time.”
Nonetheless, he knows that policy is still a glamorous and competitive field, and he has three very specific pieces of advice for students considering a policy career.
“Everyone in this field has a good education, good GPA, a good CV. What will make you stand out is first, having publications. It doesn’t matter if it’s the smallest outlet, just publish something before you graduate. Published works are your calling card,” Yusuf said. “Secondly, doing fieldwork for a year or two in a foreign country makes a big impact. And lastly, learn a foreign language. Having those three accomplishments will make you stand out from the crowd.”
Yusuf resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Shanza, and their three children Sereen, Ahmed, and Hamza.
He continues to carry fond memories of his time at BU and encourages students to explore the policy world as a career option.