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Shahram Akbarzadeh

Professor of Middle East & Central Asian Politics, Deputy Director (International), Alfred Deakin Research Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University

Shahram Akbarzadeh is Research Professor of Middle East & Central Asian Politics and Convenor of Middle East Studies Forum (MESF) at Deakin University.

He has an active research interest in the politics of Central Asia, Islam, Muslims in Australia and the Middle East.He has been involved in organising a number of key conferences, including a Chatham House rule workshop on Australia's relations with Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan (2007), sponsored by the International Centre of Excellence for Asia Pacific Studies, and a conference on the Arab Revolution with Freedom House, sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

In 2000 Professor Akbarzadeh was the Middle East Studies conference co-convener and served as the Central and West Asia Councillor for the Asian Studies Association of Australia (1999-2004). He has promoted Asian studies through contacts with industry and the academia by research and publication. He guest edited a special issue of Asian Studies Review on the Middle East (Vol.25, No.2, 2001) and a special issue of the Journal of Arabic, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies on Globalization (Vol. 5, No.2, 2000).

He has published more than 40 refereed papers. Among his latest publications are a sole-authored book on Uzbekistan and the United States, a co-authored book on US Foreign Policy in the Middle East, and a co-authored book on Muslim Active Citizenship in the West.

Professor Akbarzadeh is the founding Editor of the Islamic Studies Series, published by Melbourne University Press, and a regular public commentator. He has produced key reports for the Australian Research Council (ARC) on Australian based scholarship on Islam, and also for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) on Muslim Voices and Mapping Employment and Education; and has produced a report on Islam in the Australian media. He acted as Convenor of the Islam Node for the ARC Asia Pacific Futures Research Network.

He is a member of the Editorial Board of four leading refereed journals: Global Change, Peace & Security, the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, the Journal of Asian Security & International Affairs, and Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs; and an International Advisory Board member of the World Journal of Islamic History and Civilization.

Global Geopolitics Series

Iran is gaining credibility in the Muslim world and feeling emboldened

May 08, 2024 11:06 am UTC| Insights & Views

Irans leadership has been a direct beneficiary of the months-long war in Gaza. With every missile that Israel fires on Gaza, every US veto of a UN Security Council ceasefire resolution, and every arrest of an anti-war...

Global Geopolitics Series

Despite its inflammatory rhetoric, Iran is unlikely to attack Israel. Here's why

Oct 27, 2023 14:54 pm UTC| Insights & Views

Iran has warned Israel of severe consequences from multiple fronts if it does not halt its relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip. This warning is widely interpreted as a declaration of intent for Iran to enter the...

Global Geopolitics Series

Iran vows revenge for Soleimani's killing, but here's why it won't seek direct confrontation with the US

Jan 07, 2020 15:31 pm UTC| Insights & Views

US President Donald Trump has not held back on threatening Iran after the targeted killing of General Qassem Soleimani, a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s and a key player in expanding Irans links with armed...

Hassan Rouhani's economic legacy may be his key to winning a second term

May 19, 2017 05:47 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy Politics

Todays presidential election in Iran had turned into a vote of confidence for President Hassan Rouhanis four years in office. Irans economic recovery and reintegration into the global economy have become key electoral...

Economy

What should you do if you can’t pay your rent or mortgage?

The cost of living crisis is making it difficult for many people to pay their bills, including housing costs. Private sector rents have increased by an average 9% over the year to February 2024, and rising interest rates...

Reducing energy demand and improving efficiency will help prevent the next gas crisis

Gas prices have relaxed, Europe has come out of the winter with record gas storage levels and a surfeit of liquefied natural gas is set to reach the shores of Europe over the coming years. Many commentators are hopeful...

Minimum wage for South African farm workers: study shows 2013 hike helped reduce poverty even though compliance was poor

Minimum wage policies are typically aimed at reducing poverty. Yet there is little direct evidence of this effect, especially in developing countries. And none for South Africa. In a recent paper, we consider the...

Gas is good until 2050 and beyond, under Albanese gas strategy

The Albanese government is talking up the crucial role of gas as a transition fuel through to 2050 and beyond. In a gas strategy to be released on Thursday, the government envisages the fuels uses would change over...

South Africa’s plan to move away from coal: 8 steps to make it succeed

The South African governments Just Energy Transition Implementation Plan was launched in November 2023. It is a roadmap guiding the country away from reliance on coal-fired power towards renewable energy alternatives by...

Politics

Donald Trump Allegedly Offers Oil Execs a Deal to Scrap EV Incentives for $1B Donation

Former President Donald Trump reportedly proposed a $1 billion deal to oil executives, offering to end electric vehicle (EV) subsidies in return for campaign funding, according to The Washington Post. This move underscores...

US Supreme Court upended decades of precedent in 2022 by allowing voters to vote with gerrymandered maps instead of fixing the congressional districts first

For the 2022 midterm elections, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Alabama to use congressional districts that violated the law and diluted the voting power of Black citizens. A 5-4 vote by the Supreme Court in February...

Germany lowers voting age to 16 for the European elections

Ahead of the European parliament elections in June, Germany has lowered the age limit on participation to 16. This makes it the largest of just a handful of states in the EU to allow people under the age of 18 to vote....

South Africa will be president of the G20 in 2025: two much-needed reforms it should drive

South Africa will play an important international role in 2025 as president of the G20. The G20 is a group of 19 countries as well as the African Union and the European Union. Between them they represent 85% of global...

What early 2024 polls are revealing about voters of color and the GOP

By the end of winter 2024, the return of Donald Trump to the top of the GOP presidential ticket has revealed a surprising trend in the former presidents base of support: his increasing popularity among Black and Latino...

Science

Is dark matter’s main rival theory dead? There’s bad news from the Cassini spacecraft and other recent tests

One of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics today is that the forces in galaxies do not seem to add up. Galaxies rotate much faster than predicted by applying Newtons law of gravity to their visible matter, despite those...

Why are algorithms called algorithms? A brief history of the Persian polymath you’ve likely never heard of

Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without...

IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects

About a trillion tiny particles called neutrinos pass through you every second. Created during the Big Bang, these relic neutrinos exist throughout the entire universe, but they cant harm you. In fact, only one of them is...

The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup

A critical NASA mission in the search for life beyond Earth, Mars Sample Return, is in trouble. Its budget has ballooned from US$5 billion to over $11 billion, and the sample return date may slip from the end of this...

Dark matter: our new experiment aims to turn the ghostly substance into actual light

A ghost is haunting our universe. This has been known in astronomy and cosmology for decades. Observations suggest that about 85% of all the matter in the universe is mysterious and invisible. These two qualities are...

Technology

Massive SHIB Transfers Occur Despite Sharp Decline in Shibarium Transactions

Shiba Inu (SHIB), a dog-themed cryptocurrency, has seen a startling 3,015% increase in large holder NetFlow, which provides insight into whales changing positions. However, this impressive surge comes with a...

SHIB Whale Activity Surges Amid Plummeting Shibarium Transaction Volumes

While the Shiba Inu developer team continues to work on and implement key updates to the Layer-2 blockchain, Shibarium is seeing a significant drop in transaction volume, which has been ongoing for about a month. This...

AirTag With New Chip and Improved Tracking Due Next Year; No New Mac Studio, Pro Until Mid-2025: Mark Gurman

Apples upcoming AirTag, equipped with an upgraded chip and enhanced tracking, is expected to launch by mid-2025, as detailed by Bloombergs Mark Gurman. He also claimed that Apple will not update the Mac Studio and Mac Pro...

Shibarium Faces 97% Drop in Transactions, Yet Transfers Rise Steadily

High FDVs on Binance Listings Lead to Investor Losses, Analysis Reveals

An analysis of Binance listings over the past six months reveals that high fully diluted valuations often lead to token value loss, adversely affecting regular investors while benefiting insiders. VC-Backed Tokens on...