Li-Chen Sim is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of International and Civil Security at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and a non-resident scholar at the US Middle East Institute. She is a specialist in the political economy of Russian and Gulf energy and its intersection with international relations. Her research interests include energy transition politics in the Middle East, Gulf-Asia exchanges, and Russia-Middle East interactions. She is the author of academic articles, chapters, policy pieces, and books including Low Carbon Energy in the Middle East and North Africa, External Powers and the Gulf Monarchies, and Privatization of the Russian Oil Industry.