CAIS is very pleased to announce Dr Alam Saleh has joined the CAIS team on 1 January 2021. 

Dr Saleh, a Lecturer in Political Science (with reference to Iranian and the Middle East) at CAIS. He has a PhD, MA and BA from the School of Politics and International Studies at the University of Leeds. His research interests and knowledge of the Middle East are extensive and we look forward to having him on board to teach and contribute broadly to the CAIS scholarly environment.

Dr Saleh’s research concentrates on exploring the evolution of the concept of security from its traditional ‘realist’ base through to more ‘broadened’ approaches, especially to study societal security issues in the Middle East with a key focus on understanding Iran’s geopolitical position in the wider region. Since Dr Saleh’s research has its roots in both Iranian Studies and the broader international relations of the Middle East, it increasingly seeks to examine the intersection between country-specific studies and a wider understanding of the regional system in order to examine the kinds of challenges faced in the region in terms of a range of 'softer' security concerns, which are often felt most acutely in the domestic politics of individual states. Other research projects, currently in the planning stage, address the role of transitional identities in security and identity production in the Middle East. Dr Saleh is fluent in both Persian and Arabic and conducts his research multilingually in these languages; he also publishes in these languages.

Dr Saleh has an extensive publication record that covers the politics, international relations and sociology of Iran and the Middle East. His work includes Ethnic Identity and the State in Iran. 2013, New York: Palgrave Macmillan; (with Worrall, J.) 2020. ‘Persian Pride and Prejudice: Identity Maintenance and Interest Calculations Among Iranians in the United Arab Emirates’. International Migration Review. 54 (2), pp. 496-526. (with Dardashti, S.) ‘The Challenges for International Relations Theories in Explaining the Middle East’. In Kohkan, A. (eds.) Debates on Iranian Foreign Policy. (In Persian), Allameh Tabataba’i University Press, 2018, pp. 79-108. ‘Nationalism and Islamism as Opposing Determinants of Iranian National Identity’. In Demichelis, M., and Maggiolini, P. (eds.) The Struggle to Define a Nation. Rethinking Religious Nationalism in the Contemporary Islamic World. Gorgias Press, 2017, pp. 311-339; ‘British Interests in Iran since the Early Twentieth Century’. The Journal of Turkish Studies. 2 (1), 2019,  pp. 45-49. (In Chinese). Shaanxi Normal University, Xian, China. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/PJbJFjmaD6nl7wSasaLnBw; (with Yazdanshenas, Z.) Iran’s Pact with China is Bad News for the West. Foreign Policy. August 2020.

For a longer list of Dr Saleh's publications see the link below.

In Semester 1 Dr Saleh will teach an undergraduate course MEAS2000 Iranian History and Culture and a postgraduate course (with A/Prof. Karima Laachir) MEAS8001/9001 Critical Approaches and Methods in the Study of the Middle East & Central Asia

In Semester 2 he will teach MEAS3004/ 6004 Iran in World Politics