Selected Recent Publications

• Wirtschaftskrise im Iran: Sanktionen statt Atomabkommen, taz, 08/07, S. 11.
• (& R. Bouzari), A country in free fall, a corruptocracy in full swing: Why a building collapse in Iran matters, Middle East Institute (MEI), 07/06.
• The Geography of Protests: Why Khuzestan Matters, in: Iran: No End to Mounting Protests, ISPI »MED This Week«, 01/06.
• Iran in Focus, Issue 2 (Feb.–March), Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy & Int’l Affairs (IFI), American University of Beirut (AUB), 16 pp.
• Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the nature of Iranian–Russian relations, Middle East Institute (MEI), 21 Mar.
• How Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Is Rebounding in Iran, The National Interest (online), 21 Mar.
• The Run-Up To JCPOA’s Revival, Global Policy Journal (online), 3 Mar. 2022.
• (& M. Ghodsi) Raisi’s shrinking budget cements the Islamic Republic’s »trinity«, Middle East Institute, 20 Jan. 2022.
• Wirtschaft im Iran: Die Krise des Mullah-Kapitalismus, Qantara.de: Dialog mit der islamischen Welt, 28. Dez. • {English transl.} The causes of Iran’s economic woes, Qantara.de • {French transl.} Iran. La crise du capitalisme des mollahs, A l’encontre (site de la revue La brèche) • {Spanish transl.} Irán – La crisis del capitalismo de los mulás, Correspondecia de Prensa, 03/01/2022 • {Portuguese transl.} Irão, a crise do capitalismo dos mulás, Esquerda (Portugal), 23/01/2022 | republished as Irã, a crise do capitalismo dos mulás, Democracia e Mundo do Trabalho em Debate (Brazil), 31/01/2022.
• Continuity and change in Raisi’s approach to the nuclear deal, in: Hypes and Hopes for the Iranian Nuclear Deal, »ISPI MED This Week«, Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), 29 Nov. 2021.
• (& H. Azizi) Iran and the Taliban after the US fiasco in Afghanistan, Middle East Institute, 22/09 • {German transl.} Iran und die Taliban: Geopolitik in Afghanistans Nachbarschaft, iz3w: Zeitschrift zwischen Nord und Süd, Jan.–Feb. 2022, 9–11.
• Bidens Iran-Politik und der Schatten der Obama-Doktrin, WeltTrends, Sep., 35–40 | republished by Iran-Journal, 18 Sep. 2021.
• The Real Winner is the Boycott Campaign, in: Beyond Iran’s Elections: Making Sense of Raisi’s Islamic Republic, ISPI MED This Week, 23 June 2021.
• (& A. Sarkohi) Irans soziale Frage – im Schatten von Politik und Wahlkampf, Berlin: Friedrich-Ebert-Stifung (FES), 31 May 2021 • {English transl.} The Social Question – the Neglected Topic in Iranian Politics and the Presidential Campaign, FES.
• (& A. Palm) MENA Spring 3.0: The Persistent »Triple Crisis« in Europe’s Neighbourhood, in: M. Sus & M. Hadeed (eds.) European Security 2030: The Results of the Dahrendorf Foresight Project, Dahrendorf Forum, LSE IDEAS, Sep. 2019
• Four Decades Later, Did the Iranian Revolution Fulfill Its Promises?, Brookings Institution, 11 July 2019 | Arabic
• (et al.) A Harmful U.S. Sanctions Strategy? Foreign Affairs Asks the Experts, Foreign Affairs, 11 June 2019
• Swamped in a Triple Crisis, Cairo Review of Global Affairs, Spring 2019
• Europe and the Future of Iran Policy: Dealing with a Dual Crisis, Brookings Institution, Oct. 2018 | Arabic
• The end of the Iran deal spells the end of Iranian moderates, The National Interest, 26 June 2018
• There’s more to Iran’s protests than you’ve been told, PBS NewsHour, 3 April 2018 / (& A. Sarkohi) »Fürchtet euch!« Wenn Slogans für sich sprechen, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 16. Jan. 2018, S. 37
• The Iranian–Saudi hegemonic rivalry, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center, 25 Oct. 2017
• Rouhani’s Neoliberal Doctrine Has Failed Iran, Middle East Institute, 18 May 2017 / Where will the Rouhani administration’s neoliberal doctrine lead Iran to? (Persian), pecritique.com (Political Economy Critique), Nov./Dec. 2017

Latest Monographs          

2021 Iran in an Emerging New World Order: From Ahmadinejad to Rouhani, Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan (Studies in Iranian Politics), May. {details & advance praise}

2020 The Politics of Culture in Times of Rapprochement: European Cultural and Academic Exchange with Iran (2015–16), new forewords by A.-H. Cheheltan & A. Adib-Moghaddam, Potsdam: Wissenschaftsverlag WeltTrends.

2020  The Islamic Republic of Iran Four Decades On: The 2017/18 Protests Amid a Triple Crisis, Washington, DC: Brookings Institution & Doha: Brookings Doha Center, April (60 pp.) • in Arabic translation by Brookings Doha. {see also ongoing research project on “Iran’s long-term revolutionary process“, incl. publications & media commentary in multiple languages}

Ali Fathollah-Nejad

political scientist & analyst

deutsch-iranischer politologe

politologue irano-allemand

Dr. Ali Fathollah-Nejad is a German–Iranian political scientist focusing on Iran, the Middle East, and the post-unipolar world order. He is a McCloy Fellow on Global Trends of the American Council on Germany (ACG), exploring how transatlantic foreign policy toward authoritarian states could reconcile interests and values. Also, he is an Associate Fellow with the American University of Beirut’s Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (AUB-IFI), where he publishes a monthly brief entitled »Iran in Focus« (previously published as »Iran 1400 Brief«). He is the author of the much-acclaimed book Iran in an Emerging New World Order: From Ahmadinejad to Rouhani (2021), as well as initiator and co-host of the Berlin Mideast Podcast (Konrad Adenauer Foundation). He is also an affiliated researcher with the Centre d’Études de la Coopération Internationale et du Développement (CECID) at Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Freie Universität (FU) Berlin’s Center for Middle Eastern and North African Politics.

Ali has taught globalization and development in the Middle East, contemporary Iran, the Arab Revolts and great-power politics at the University of Tübingen (as Senior Lecturer in Middle East and Comparative Politics), in the Ph.D. program of Qatar University’s Gulf Studies Center, at FU Berlin’s Center for Middle Eastern and North African Politics, the University of Westminster, SOAS etc. Due to COVID-19, his Visiting Professorship at the Centre for International Studies of the University of Economics in Prague is postponed.

Ali is also the former Iran expert of the Brookings Institution in Doha (BDC, 2017–20) and the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP, 2015–18). In 2020, he published two monographs: The Islamic Republic of Iran Four Decades On: The 2017/18 Protests Amid a Triple Crisis and The Politics of Culture in Times of Rapprochement: European Cultural and Academic Exchange with Iran (2015–16).

Ali holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the Department of Development Studies at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London) and was the winner of 2016/17 post-doctoral fellowship of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Iran Project.

His about 300 analytical pieces in English, German, and French have been translated into a dozen languages. A frequent speaker at academic conferences and political forums, he regularly contributes to leading international media outlets in English, German, and French. Ali is fluent in German, French, English, and Persian.

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Vimeo • Soundcloud • LinkedIn

Iran Monthly Brief (2022)

(2022) Iran in Focus, Beirut: Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI), American University of Beirut (AUB).

#IranInFocus is a monthly brief written by Dr. Ali Fathollah-Nejad, Senior Fellow at IFI, that comments on current international, political, economic, and social issues in Iran. (www.ifipolicyblog.com/iran-in-focus.html)

Iran Weekly Newsletter (2021)

May–Aug. 2021 Iran 1400 Brief: Beyond the Headlines, Amman/Beirut: Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom’s Middle East and North Africa office (FNF MENA).

Covering Iran’s domestic & international challenges (above all, the nuclear talks).

Berlin Mideast Podcast (2021–)

Der Berlin Mideast Podcast diskutiert regelmäßig mit ausgewiesenen ExpertInnen ein zentrales Thema in Bezug auf Europas Nachbarregion, dem Nahen/Mittleren Osten (Nordafrika & Westasien). So werden Politik, Gesellschaft, Wirtschaft, Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik im und gegenüber dem Nahen und Mittleren Osten unter die Lupe genommen. Das Team besteht aus den Co-Hosts (und Initiator) Ali Fathollah-Nejad & Marie Sina sowie regemäßig Golineh Atai & Michael Thumann. Mit freundlicher Unterstützung der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. #BerlinMideastPodcast

2022 MEDIA COMMENTARY [en|de|fr|fa|ar]

{Click here for the 2018–2021 archive}

• Golnaz Esfandiari, Iran Sells Possible Revival Of Nuclear Deal As »Political Victory« Over West, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), 25/08.
• Borzou Daragahi, Iran squirms over Rushdie attack, praising perpetrator while denying blame, The Independent, 16/08.
• Kourosh Ziabari, Iranian government intensifies crackdown, Al-Monitor, 15/08.
• Laure-Maïssa Farjallah, L’ombre de l’Iran derrière l’attaque contre Salman Rushdie, L’Orient–Le Jour, 13/08 | cited in: Marianne (France).
• Stuart Williams, Crackdown seeks to stifle Iran’s critical voices, AFP, 02/08 | Republished e.g. by Al-Monitor, France24, The Australian, Asharq Al-Awsat English (London), Bangkok Post, Yahoo! Singapore, International Business Times, YEN.com.gh (Ghana), TUKO.co.ke (Kenya) • French translation: L’Express, L’Obs (Le Nouvel Observateur), Le Point, TV5 Monde, La Croix, ICI Beyrouth, Le Mauricien (Sait-Louis, Mauritius) • Spanish translation: Il Financiero Costa Rica, Infobae (Latin America), SwissInfo.ch , Aporrea (Venzuela) • Portuguese translation: Jornal Estado de Minas (Brazil), Diário de Notícias (Portugal).
• Stanly Johny, What does Putin want from Iran?, The Hindu, 20/07.
• Soulayma Mardam-Bey, Téhéran, grand perdant de la visite de Biden au Moyen-Orient ? L’Orient–Le Jour, 18/07.
• Elwali Ahmed, The U.S.–Iran talks in Doha: Between reality and hope [in Arabic], Al-Khaleej Online (Qatar), 30/06.
• Thomas Seibert, Die Wut im Iran gegen das Regime, Die Presse (Vienna), 07/06, p. 4.
• Borzou Daragahi, »Abadan is heartbroken«: Grieving Iran protesters rage against regime after building collapse, The Independent, 03/06.
• Manuel Fernández, Iraqi Kurdistan’s oil industry targeted by pro-Iranian Shia militias, Atalyar (Madrid), 06/05 | La industria petrolera del Kurdistán iraquí, objetivo de las milicias chiíes proiraníes {Spanish transl.} | L’industrie pétrolière du Kurdistan irakien visée par les milices chiites pro-iraniennes {French transl.}.
• Noemi Verducci, L’ostacolo russo nei negoziati di Vienna sul nucleare, Opinio Juris (Law & Politics Review) (Italy), 19/04.
• Christian Schaudwet, Rosatoms Versicherung gegen Sanktionen, Der Tagesspiegel, 13/04.
• Yeghia Tashjian, The Impact of the Crisis in Ukraine on the Regional Order in the Middle East, The Armenian Weekly, 16/03.
• Report: The Implications of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine for the Middle East, Wikistrat Special Report, March.
• Soulayma Mardam-Bey, Pourparlers sur le nucléaire : Moscou pose ses conditions, L’Orient–Le Jour, 07/03, p. 7.
• Laure-Maïssa Farjallah, A quoi joue Téhéran dans la région ?, L’Orient–Le Jour, 19/01, p. 7.
• Jeanine Jalkh,  Un accord sur le nucléaire iranien changerait-il la donne au Liban ?, L’Orient–Le Jour, 12/01 ｜{English transl.} Would an Iranian nuclear deal be a game-changer in Lebanon?, L’Orient–Le Jour, 12/01.
• Ángeles Espinosa, Los avances nucleares de Irán añaden urgencia a sus negociaciones con EE UU, El País, 2 Jan.

2022 VIDEO & AUDIO INTERVIEWS

{Click here for the 2018–2021 archive}

• Vienna negotiations resume: Is there a breakthrough soon? (in Arabic), DW Arabic »مسائية DW«, 04/08.
• Should Iran come back to the negotiating table for a new nuclear deal?, TRT World, »The Newsmakers«, 01/08.
• Belgian parliament ratifies prisoner swap treaty with Iran, TRT World, 21/07.
• What was discussed at the Russia–Turkey–Iran summit? {video}, euronews, 20/07.
• »Jeder der Staatschefs hat seine Interessen und versucht diese auch durchzusetzen«, Welt TV, 19/07.
• Roger Brändli, «Irans Wirtschaftskrise ist hausgemacht», SRF »Echo der Zeit«, 15/07.
• Gudrun Harms, Proteste nach dem Gebäude-Einsturz im iranischen Abadan, VOX Nachrichten, 03/07.
• Iran: Soziale Unruhen, SRF 4 News, 16/06.
• Israeli preparedness for Iranian revenge: What is the nature of the expected escalation? (in Arabic) {from 14min} , mod. Dima Tarhini, DW Arabic »Masaiya«, 30/05.
• What Role Could the EU Play In a Multipolar Middle East?, TRT World, »Strait Talk«, 20/05.
• Dr. Ali Fathollah-Nejad on Iran’s nuclear policy and the JCPOA, interviewed by the Iran Desk, ITSS (International Team for the Study of Security) Verona, 19/05.
• Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) {video}, Instagram Live #LiveWithIFI | org. Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs, American University of Beirut (AUB), 12/04.
• Could the Conflict in Ukraine Help Iran Get a Better Nuclear Deal?, TRT World, »Strait Talk«, 22/03.
• Foreign Policy Under the Ayatollahs [1h05] | Pt. 20., »The Contemporary History of Iran« series | Roqe Media, 25 Feb. {excerpt with Persian subtitles on Iran’s “look East” with like-minded autocracies}.
• Wohin steuert der Iran? [Where does Iran head to?] {ARD Mediathek}, Diskussion mit Ali Fathollah-Nejad, Golineh Atai & Bijan Djir-Sarai, phoenix (ARD & ZDF), »phoenix plus«, 10/02 & 11/02 & 21/02 & 23/02.

2022 TALKS & LECTURES

{Click here for the 2018–2021 archive}

• 15 Sep. | Potsdam (Germany) | Moderator, »Europe in a New World Order« Strategic Working Group | M100 Sanssouci Colloquium 2022 »War and Peace. A New World Order«.
• 13 Sep. | Berlin | Panel Organizer & Chair »The Islamic Republic of Iran at 43: Authoritarianism and Foreign Policy« | Section »Politics, History, Economics and Society of the Middle East and North Africa«, Deutscher Orientalistentag (DOT) / DAVO Congress, Freie Universität Berlin, 12–17 Sep.
• 26 Aug. | Bonn (Germany) | »The Collapse of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Social Contract and its Repercussions«, paper to be presented at the international workshop »Social Contracts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) – Drivers of Change«, org. German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Aug. 24–26, 2022.
• 26 July  | New York City (online) | Iran–Russia Relations and the War in Ukraine {video}, org. American Council on Germany (ACG), mod. Dr. Steve Sokol (ACG President).
• 20 June | Bonn (online) | Panel »Afghanistan: The political fallout from the Taliban takeover« with Simbal Khan (analyst, Islamabad), Suhasini Haidar (Diplomatic Editor, The Hindu), etc.; mod. Waslat Hasrat-Nazimi (head of DW’s Dari and Pashto Service), hosted by DW (Deutsche Welle) Asia | DW Global Media Forum, Bonn, 20–21/06 {report by DW Pashto Service}.
• 18 June | Verona (online) | The Islamic Republic’s »Triple Crisis«, Protests and Prospects | Block »Iranian Internal Politics« together with Prof. Zibakalam (U of Tehran) |  »Iran« Module | ITSS Summer School 2022 »The Contemporary Challenges of Security, Policy, & Statecraft«  | org. ITSS (International Team for the Study of Security) Verona (online).
• 9 June | Berlin | Panel »Nuklearabkommen mit Iran vor dem Aus: Was heißt das für die Region und für die Welt?« (in German & English) | org. Berlin Forum for German–Gulf Dialogue (GGD Berlin) | Haus der Bundespressekonferenz, Raum 0107, Berlin.
• 15 April | USA (online) | Ali Fathollah-Nejad – Iran in Emerging New World Order  {Video} | »Spotlighting an Author« series | org. Iran 1400 Project.
• 13 April | Geneva (online) | »The war in Ukraine: Repercussions in the world and in the Middle East« panel | org. Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) & Middle East Treaty Organization (METO).
• 12 April | Instagram Live (5pm Beirut time) | Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), Instagram Live #LiveWithIFI | org. Issam Fares Institute for Public Poolicy and International Affairs, American University of Beirut (AUB).
• 7 April | Berlin | 43 Jahre Islamische Republik Iran, ihre Dreifachkrise und die Rolle Europas | OSI-Club Alumni-Stammtisch | org.  OSI-Club – Verein der Freundinnen und Freunde des Otto-Suhr-Instituts, FU Berlin | Salon Diskurs.
• 6 April | Hamburg | Panel »(Un)Peace in the Middle East« | Bucerius Summer School on Global Governance »Facing New Realities: Global Governance Reloaded« | org. Zeit-Stiftung & Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Special Spring Session.
• 5 April | Lausanne (online) | Guest lecture on Iran’s international relations | »Histoire des relations internationales post-1945«, by Dr. Dr. Joseph Daher, Centre d’histoire internationale et d’études politiques de la mondialisation (CRHIM), Institut d’études politiques (IEP), Université de Lausanne (UNIL).
• 15 March | Thessaloniki (online) | Guest lecture »The Islamic Republic, Iranian Political and Geopolitical Cultures, and the Question of Shia Geopolitics« | »Political Islam between Three Continents« by Dr. René Wildangel (Visiting Lecturer, IHU), Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean Studies, International Hellenic University (IHU).
• 24 Feb. | Berlin (online) | Iran unter Raisi: Vom Atomdeal und hausgemachten Krisen | Iran – Politische Studienreise digital | org. Alsharq-Reisen | 24/25 Sep.
• 1 Feb. | Darmstadt (online) | Guest lecture on my book Iran in an Emerging New World Order | MA Course » On the Concept of Iran and the Iranian Cultural Sphere: Iran in West Asia«, by Dr. Homayun Alam | Institute of Political Science, Technical University of Darmstadt (Germany).
• 25 Jan. | Singapore (online) | Iran–Europe Dynamics and the JCPOA Negotiations | Panel with Dr. Clément Therme (Sciences Po Paris & EHESS & EUI Middle East Directions) & Prof. Heinz Gärtner (University of Vienna & Chair, Advisory Board of the International Institute for Peace (IIP), mod. Dr. Asif Shuja (Snr. Research Fellow, MEI-NUS) | org. Middle East Institute (MEI) Political Economy research cluster, National University of Singapore (NUS).
• 18 Jan. | Beirut (online) | {Book Launch Middle East} Iran in an Emerging New World Order {YouTube video}, Discussants: Prof. Ali Ansari (Professor of Iranian History & Founding Director, Institute for Iranian Studies, University of St Andrews) & Kazem Sajjadpour (Distinguished Senior Fellow & fmr. Director and President, Institute for Political and International Studies [IPIS] & fmr. Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran), mod. Dr. Joseph Bahout (IFI Director), org. Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy & International Affairs (IFI), American University of Beirut (AUB).