- Middle East Politics, Middle Eastern Studies, Iran, International Security, Iranian Studies, Critical Theory, and 15 moreInternational Relations, Middle East Studies, Ethnicity and National Identity, Human Rights, Multiculturalism, Peace and Conflict Studies, Conflict, International organizations, Conflict Resolution, Political Violence and Terrorism, Nationalism, Identity (Culture), Ethnicity, Minority Rights, and Ethnic Studiesedit
- Senior Lecturer in Middle Eastern Studiesedit
The Struggle to Define a Nation: Rethinking Religious Nationalism in the Contemporary Islamic
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Tehran's complicated relationship with its ethnic sub-groups has been a pressing security concern since the formation of modern Iran in 1925. This concern is intimately linked with issues related to citizenship, democracy, and democratic... more
Tehran's complicated relationship with its ethnic sub-groups has been a pressing security concern since the formation of modern Iran in 1925. This concern is intimately linked with issues related to citizenship, democracy, and democratic political processes, which remain fundamental to Iran's political structure and the Iranian political sphere. This book argues that, while the Islamic Republic has employed various strategies to mitigate the worst excesses of inter-ethnic tension while still securing a Shi'a-Persian dominated state, the systematic neglect of ethnic groups by both the Islamic Republic and its predecessor regime has resulted in the politicization of ethnic identity in Iran.
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Iran’s new nuclear policy between deterrence and pragmatism
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International power is under profound transition, marked by a move towards deep pluralism in the international system whereby a range of middle powers have begun to stake a greater claim to regional power. This shift is escalating the... more
International power is under profound transition, marked by a move towards deep pluralism in the international system whereby a range of middle powers have begun to stake a greater claim to regional power. This shift is escalating the power struggle between the United States and China. Both Beijing and Tehran share a strategic plan to undermine US global hegemony, and both have encountered tensions, sanctions, and pressures originating from Washington. A relatively strong and independent Iran in the Persian Gulf would help China not only to ensure its interests in the region, but also to guarantee its energy security and embed its footprint in the Middle East. Consequently, in the age of relative decline of United States’ power, and the rise of regional powers, the Sino-Iranian strategic partnership is changing the Middle East’s security architecture. Iran’s look East and China’s march West strategic visions will meet in the Persian Gulf region. As such, this article seeks to explore such confluence, and its implications.
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‘the power vacuums resulting from de-Westernization are leading to an Asianization of the Persian Gulf. China is seeking to fill the gap with strategic precision.’
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Iran’s new membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is another step toward the postWest world order.
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To overcome the structural challenges that Iran has faced ever since the 1979 revolution, substantive changes to the fundamental political system are needed, but Raisi has the hypothetical capability to catalyse more systematic reform by... more
To overcome the structural challenges that Iran has faced ever since the 1979 revolution, substantive changes to the fundamental political system are needed, but Raisi has the hypothetical capability to catalyse more systematic reform by engaging in meaningful nuclear talks and signing a nuclear deal.
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In this era of tense confrontation between China and the U.S., Iran's alignment of interests with those of China will act as a "counter-hegemonic" move that will undermine the U.S.'s strategic position in the Middle East, and its... more
In this era of tense confrontation between China and the U.S., Iran's alignment of interests with those of China will act as a "counter-hegemonic" move that will undermine the U.S.'s strategic position in the Middle East, and its symbolic power elsewhere, to an as yet unknown degree.
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Yet again we are expecting a long and frustrating diplomatic marathon to be held in Vienna between Iran and the global powers over Tehran’s nuclear programme. This will, however, be the last of its kind.
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The Sino-Iranian Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is another move by Beijing to extend its power across the globe. For Iran, it is about further strengthening the country’s position in the Middle East.
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Given the ongoing tensions between Iran and the Gulf States, it is odd that Persian speakers, and Iranians in particular, living in the Gulf’s Arab States have received so little scholarly attention. Based on extensive fieldwork in both... more
Given the ongoing tensions between Iran and the Gulf States, it is odd that Persian speakers, and Iranians in particular, living in the Gulf’s Arab States have received so little scholarly attention. Based on extensive fieldwork in both the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iran, this article examines conceptualizations of identity and interests within Iranian communities in the UAE. In building an understanding of the diversity of Iranians, while highlighting commonalities across their diverse spectrum, it paints a complex picture of people trapped between pride in their identity and the prejudice they face because of that identity. The article develops the concept of identity maintenance as a key tool, placing this approach within wider calculations of interests and hedging processes embarked on by Iranians within an environment that increasingly securitizes Iranian identity. The case both enriches our understanding of the mosaic of migration in the Gulf and highlights key drivers within processes of identity maintenance. These processes represent a logical outcome of the context of precarity and suspicion that pertains in the UAE, making identity maintenance both similar to and considerably different from more typical migration environments in the West.
Research Interests: Iranian Studies, Identity (Culture), Security Studies, Identity politics, Nationalism, and 10 moreNational Identity, International Migration, Migration Studies, Sociology of Migration, Migration Politics, United Arab Emirates, Societal Security, Iranian Foreign Policy, Persian Gulf Studies, and Iranian Nationalism
President Donald Trump is correct in expressing that Iran’s growing power is concerning.[1] He is also right that the administration of President George Bush has worsened the power and stability of Iran, not least because of its... more
President Donald Trump is correct in expressing that Iran’s growing power is concerning.[1] He is also right that the administration of President George Bush has worsened the power and stability of Iran, not least because of its strategically disabling mistake of invading Iraq, which resulted in power vacuum that enabled and empowered Iran since 2003. Trump is quite right in positing that Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran has strengthened Iran and entrenched its political stance.[2] These factors are undermining Trump’s anti-Iranian policies in contemporary foreign relations, and the double-faceted strengthening of Iranian influence challenges Trump’s attempt to demonise Iran and thereby justify US military action against the Islamic Republic. Today Trump is left with few options on the table except for the further imposition of economic sanctions designed to confront Iran’s growing power in the region. These sanctions are arguably important constraints on Iran but are simply insufficient to compel Tehran to reverse its increasing desire for influence in regional politics.
Research Interests: Middle East Studies, Middle East & North Africa, Gulf Studies, International Security, Iranian Studies, and 12 moreThe Persian Gulf, History of Iran, Middle East Politics, Iranian Modern History, Middle East, Security of the Persian Gulf, Securty Studies, Iran's Nuclear Programme and Its Implications for the Gulf States, Security in the Persian Gulf + GCC states, Donald Trump, Maritime Trade In the Gulf, and US- Iran nuclear deal
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The United States has yet again attempted to resolve issues in the Middle East. This time it is by firing missiles on a Syrian military airfield, sending a ‘strong message’ to a dictator.
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ئهم لێكۆڵینهوهیه باس له ههوڵى سهلهفیهكانى میصر دهكات بۆ به ئهمنیكردنى شیعهگهرایی له ساتهوهختى شۆڕشى 2011وه لهمیصر. بهلهبهرچاوگرتنى گۆڕاوه مهزههبیهكانى رۆژههڵاتى ناوهڕاست، سهلهفیهكانى میصر بهشێوهیهكى... more
ئهم لێكۆڵینهوهیه باس له ههوڵى سهلهفیهكانى میصر دهكات بۆ به ئهمنیكردنى شیعهگهرایی له ساتهوهختى شۆڕشى 2011وه لهمیصر. بهلهبهرچاوگرتنى گۆڕاوه مهزههبیهكانى رۆژههڵاتى ناوهڕاست، سهلهفیهكانى میصر بهشێوهیهكى ئامڕازیانه (بۆ بهرژهوهندییهكانى خۆیان) ترسیان له شیعهگهرایی بهكارهێناوه له گوتاره ئاینیه سیاسیهكانیاندا بۆ زیادكرنى ئامانجه سیاسیهكانى خۆیان. ئهم لێكۆڵینهوهیه باس له پاڵنهرهكانى پشت گوتاره ئاینیه سیاسیهكانى سهلهفیهكان دهكات لهرێگهى ههڵسهنگاندنى گۆڕاوه ناوخۆیی و دهرهكییه پهیوهست بهیهكهكان لهچوارچێوهى ململانێ ناسنامهیهكاندا له ڕۆژههڵاتى ناوهڕاستدا ، كهلهبهرئهنجامدا كاریگهرییان لهسهر میصر ههبووه.
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Every time Iran has an election, its minority groups are suddenly the center of attention - and then they are quickly forgotten again.
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The present review essay is of a novel format: two authors working in the same field introduce each other's works, and then pose a number of questions to each other. The aim is to facilitate dialogue between scholars occupied with similar... more
The present review essay is of a novel format: two authors working in the same field introduce each other's works, and then pose a number of questions to each other. The aim is to facilitate dialogue between scholars occupied with similar issues, theories, methods or problems, and to share their discussions with others. Here, Alam Saleh, Lecturer in Middle Eastern Politics, University of Exeter, and Rasmus Christian Elling, Assistant Professor of Iranian Studies, University of Copenhagen, introduce each other's recent books on ethnic minorities, identity and nationalism in post-revolution Iran. These introductions are then followed by questions and answers in relation to the topics covered by the books.
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This article explores Egyptian Salafis’ attempts to securitize Shi‘ism since the 2011 uprising. Taking into account the sectarian dynamics of the new Middle East, Salafis in Egypt have instrumentally used the specter of Shi‘ism in their... more
This article explores Egyptian Salafis’ attempts to securitize Shi‘ism since the 2011 uprising. Taking into account the sectarian dynamics of the new Middle East, Salafis in Egypt have instrumentally used the specter of Shi‘ism in their politico-religious rhetoric to further their political ends. This article examines the rationales behind this discourse by assessing interacting internal and external dynamics amid identity conflicts in the region, which have subsequently affected Egypt.
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Andalusiasation is a critical concept in the Islamic Republic's security discourse that implies the gradual de-Islamisation of cultural structures, which will eventually constitute an existential threat to the political domination of the... more
Andalusiasation is a critical concept in the Islamic Republic's security discourse that implies the gradual de-Islamisation of cultural structures, which will eventually constitute an existential threat to the political domination of the Islamists. The state displays confidence about its hard power, yet it shows anxiety about the enemy's cultural invasion. This article examines the widening religio-cultural gap between the state and the grassroots and evaluates the increasing securitisation of the cultural sphere in Iran.
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Iran, since the advent of its nation-state building process, has struggled to define its national identity in a relevant and resonant way. This article, while acknowledging the multi-dimensional nature of Iran's national identity, focuses... more
Iran, since the advent of its nation-state building process, has struggled to define its national identity in a relevant and resonant way. This article, while acknowledging the multi-dimensional nature of Iran's national identity, focuses on its two most profound components: Nationalism and Islamism. It explores how the tensions between these two are at the heart of not only the problem of Iranian identity but also of Persian identity. Examining how these two bases of identity also rely on similarity as well as difference the article argues, through the use of the tool of a problematique, that a coherent Iranian national identity, inclusive of all including ethnic minorities, is not possible until the tensions between Nationalism and Islamism at the heart of Persian identity are resolved.
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In the present edited volume, a serious of internationally recognised scholars adopt an inter-disciplinary approach to the study of ‘religious nationalism’ and the ‘nationalization’ of religion, through focusing on case studies and the... more
In the present edited volume, a serious of internationally recognised scholars adopt an inter-disciplinary approach to the study of ‘religious nationalism’ and the ‘nationalization’ of religion, through focusing on case studies and the religious affiliations and denominations of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. The aim of this book is to reconsider the ongoing debate between different communities of the so-called Islamic World regarding the nature of the nation and state, and the role of religion in a nation-state’s institutional ground, both as a viable integrative or segregating factor. It is through focusing on the state dimension, as the subject of collective action or socio- cultural and political representation, that the book proposes to reconsider the relationship between religion, politics and identity in the perspective of ‘religious nationalism’ and the ‘nationalization’ of religion in the contemporary Islamic World.
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بـا توجـه بـه تنشهـاي مـداوم بین ایران و کشــورهـاي حـاشــیـه ي خلیج فـارس، تعجب برانگیز اسـت که گویشـوران فارسـی، به خصـوص ایرانیان، که در کشـورهاي عربی خلیج فـارس زنـدگی میکننـد، بســیـار کم مورد توجـه پژوهشــگران قرار گرفته اند. این... more
بـا توجـه بـه تنشهـاي مـداوم بین ایران و کشــورهـاي حـاشــیـه ي خلیج فـارس، تعجب برانگیز اسـت که گویشـوران فارسـی، به خصـوص ایرانیان، که در کشـورهاي عربی خلیج فـارس زنـدگی میکننـد، بســیـار کم مورد توجـه پژوهشــگران قرار گرفته اند. این مقاله مفهوم سازيهايِ هویت و سود در میان جوامع ایرانی در امارات متحده عربی را بر اسـاس تحقیق میدانی گسـترده در هر دو کشـور امارات و ایران بررسـی میکند. با ارائه ي درك صـحیحی از تنوع ایرانیان، و در عین حال با تاکید بر تشـابهات آنها در این طیف متنوع، این مقاله تصـویر پیچیدهاي از مردمی را پیش رو میگذارد که بین غرور نسـبت به هویتشـان و تعصـبی که به خاطر این هویت دچارش هســتند، گیر افتاده اند. این مقاله از مفهوم 'حفظ هویت' به عنوان یک ابزار کلیدي اسـتفاده میکند و این رویکرد را در حیطه ي گسـترده تري قرار میدهد که شـامل محاسـبات سـود و فرآیندهاي محافظت از مال اسـت که ایرانیان امارات بـه کـار میگیرنـد، آن هم در محیطی کـه بـه شــکـل فزاینـدهاي هویـت ایرانی را بـه موضــوعی امنیتی بدل میکنـد. این مطـالعـه هم فهم ما را از موزاییـک مهـاجرت در خلیج فـارس غنـا میبخشـــد و هم محركهـاي اصــلی در فرآینـد حفظ هویـت را برجسـته میکند. این فرآیندها را میتوان نتیجه ي منطقیِ موقعیتِ ناامنِ شـغلی و بدگمانیِ رایج در امارات قلمداد کرد که حفظ هویت در این کشـور را هم شـبیه وهم بسیار متفاوت از محیطهاي معمولِ مهاجرت در غرب در میآورد
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چکیده دیدگاه های سنتی سالها پارادایم مسلط در روابط بین الملل بوده اند. این دیدگاه ها با تاکیدات خود بر دولت محوری، نقش قدرت در روابط بین الملل و توجه بیش از اندازه به ابعاد نظامی و نادیده گرفتن سایر زوایای امنیت، در توضیح شرایط کشورهای... more
چکیده
دیدگاه های سنتی سالها پارادایم مسلط در روابط بین الملل بوده اند. این دیدگاه ها با تاکیدات خود بر دولت محوری، نقش قدرت در روابط بین الملل و توجه بیش از اندازه به ابعاد نظامی و نادیده گرفتن سایر زوایای امنیت، در توضیح شرایط کشورهای خاورمیانه، بویژه وقایع مربوط به بیداری اسلامی ناکام مانده اند. از حدود دهه 1980 مجموعه دیگری از نظریات با انتقاد از دیدگاههای سنتی بویژه نگاه تک بعدی آن ها به امنیت در مطالعات امنیتی ظهور یافتند. تاکید ویژه ی این گروه به گسترش مباحث امنیتی در سایر حوزه ها و مرجع قرار دادن فرد در این مطالعات بود. دیدگاه های انتقادی نیز با کم اهمیت جلوه دادن نقش متغیر دولت بویژه در حوزه ی خاورمیانه نمی توانند پاسخ مناسبی برای شرایط خاص آن ارائه دهند. این پژوهش تلاش می کند با بهره گیری از نظریه ی پسا استعماری که بر خصوصیات منحصر به فرد تاریخی، سیاسی، اقتصادی، جمعیت شناسی و جغرافیایی در هر منطقه توجه دارد، پیچیدگی های امنیتی خاورمیانه را از این دریچه مورد واکاوی قرار داده و ضعف های مطالعات امنیتی در تبیین
آنچه بر خاورمیانه می گذرد را آشکار سازد.
دیدگاه های سنتی سالها پارادایم مسلط در روابط بین الملل بوده اند. این دیدگاه ها با تاکیدات خود بر دولت محوری، نقش قدرت در روابط بین الملل و توجه بیش از اندازه به ابعاد نظامی و نادیده گرفتن سایر زوایای امنیت، در توضیح شرایط کشورهای خاورمیانه، بویژه وقایع مربوط به بیداری اسلامی ناکام مانده اند. از حدود دهه 1980 مجموعه دیگری از نظریات با انتقاد از دیدگاههای سنتی بویژه نگاه تک بعدی آن ها به امنیت در مطالعات امنیتی ظهور یافتند. تاکید ویژه ی این گروه به گسترش مباحث امنیتی در سایر حوزه ها و مرجع قرار دادن فرد در این مطالعات بود. دیدگاه های انتقادی نیز با کم اهمیت جلوه دادن نقش متغیر دولت بویژه در حوزه ی خاورمیانه نمی توانند پاسخ مناسبی برای شرایط خاص آن ارائه دهند. این پژوهش تلاش می کند با بهره گیری از نظریه ی پسا استعماری که بر خصوصیات منحصر به فرد تاریخی، سیاسی، اقتصادی، جمعیت شناسی و جغرافیایی در هر منطقه توجه دارد، پیچیدگی های امنیتی خاورمیانه را از این دریچه مورد واکاوی قرار داده و ضعف های مطالعات امنیتی در تبیین
آنچه بر خاورمیانه می گذرد را آشکار سازد.
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پرسش اصلی این نوشته این است که آیا ایدئولوژی اسلامی تهران توانایی تطبیق با ملیگرایی را دارد؟ بری بوزان (Barry Buzan) استدلال میکند که هویت اجتماعی، بخش کانونی مسئلهی امنیت است. با توجه به این مسئله آیا ایران اسلامی در حفظ و ایجاد... more
پرسش اصلی این نوشته این است که آیا ایدئولوژی اسلامی تهران توانایی تطبیق با ملیگرایی را دارد؟ بری بوزان (Barry Buzan) استدلال میکند که هویت اجتماعی، بخش کانونی مسئلهی امنیت است. با توجه به این مسئله آیا ایران اسلامی در حفظ و ایجاد هویت ملیِ منسجم، موفق بوده است؟