Samir Puri was raised in 1980s London in a family that had traversed three continents in three generations, from Asia to Africa to Europe.

He later completed a PhD at Cambridge University in International Relations, worked at RAND, and then the Foreign Office, where his assignments covered counter terrorism, and a year in east Ukraine monitoring the onset of war in 2014 - 15.

After government service, Dr Puri became a lecturer in War Studies at King's College London, and guest lectured at Cambridge and Johns Hopkins. He retains a visiting post at King’s and between 2020 and 2022 was Senior Fellow at IISS-Asia in Singapore.

In 2023, he became an Associate Fellow at Chatham House. In January 2025 he served as inaugural director of Chatham House’s Centre for Global Governance and Security, leading a refresh of its work and chairing major international figures in public events.

His books, 'The Great Imperial Hangover' and ‘Westlessness’ distil these varied perspectives: from the academic to the practical; from the personal to the political; and between East and West.