Articles & Opinion
Nuclear Diplomacy and the Iranian File
Contributions to the foremost publication on nuclear policy risk — covering Iran's nuclear programme and the state of arms control diplomacy in the 21st century.
Afrasiabi's Interview with UN Leadership
An interview published in the UN Chronicle, the official magazine of the United Nations, discussing the evolving state of peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts around the world.
Trump and Rouhani Need to Talk
An opinion piece arguing that a direct summit between the US and Iranian presidents is a more realistic path forward than it might first appear.
Gathering Hope in Tehran
A reflection on Iran's hosting of the Nonaligned Movement summit, arguing the gathering carried more substance than critics were willing to credit it with.
Rethinking the Balkans
A letter arguing that the US and EU still have significant work ahead to keep the Balkans from slipping back into instability and conflict.
Incident at Sea
A letter to the editor responding to reporting on a naval standoff between US and Iranian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Rebooting US-Iran Relations
An opinion piece on the fresh opportunity to reset strained US-Iran relations following years of sanctions and diplomatic estrangement.
Outline for Iran Deal Marks a New Milestone
An analysis of the framework nuclear agreement, described by the EU's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini as a decisive step in the negotiations.
Security Guarantee Is Missing Link in Iran Nuclear Talks
Engaging Iran in the region's security calculus, rather than isolating Iran and risking its security with threats and punitive sanctions, has potential for putting the genie of Iran's nuclear proliferation back in the bottle.
On Nuclear Negotiations / A new way forward needed / Time to broaden U.S.-Iran dialogue
The time for a direct dialogue between the United States and Iran on the thorny nuclear issue may have arrived.
U.S., Iran need to build confidence
In the wake of escalating tensions between United States and Iran, touching on both the nuclear standoff and the situation in Iraq,
Kaveh Afrasiabi — Archives en Français
The French-language author archive on Middle East Eye, featuring Kaveh Afrasiabi's analysis of Iranian foreign policy for francophone readers.
Meinung: Den Geist in der Flasche halten
A German-language opinion piece proposing that Iran offer Europe oversight of its nuclear technology as a confidence-building measure.
Betr.: Kaveh L. Afrasiabi
A German-language piece published in TAZ, one of Germany's leading left-of-centre daily newspapers, referencing Kaveh L. Afrasiabi's commentary.
Kaveh Afrasiabi | The Guardian
A Guardian profile identifying Kaveh Afrasiabi as a former political science professor at Tehran University, contextualising his commentary for UK readers.
The United Nations and the Idea of Dialogue among Civilisations
A 2001 paper examining the United Nations' engagement with the concept of dialogue among civilisations, exploring its implications for international cooperation.
Remembering Howard Zinn
A tribute to the legendary historian Howard Zinn — doctoral supervisor of Kaveh Afrasiabi — reflecting on his intellectual legacy, his fearless political engagement, and his enduring influence on a generation of scholars and activists.
Iran Policy Commentary — LobeLog Archive
A curated archive of analytical pieces and opinion articles on Iranian foreign policy, US–Iran relations, nuclear diplomacy, and regional geopolitics — published in one of the foremost foreign policy blogs.
Iran & Regional Geopolitics — MEE Author Archive
A series of analytical essays and opinion pieces for Middle East Eye — one of the region's foremost independent media platforms — covering Iran's evolving foreign policy, nuclear negotiations, and strategic posture.
Asia Times — Author Archive
Regular commentary and analysis published in the Asia Times covering Iran-China relations, the Belt and Road Initiative's interaction with Middle Eastern geopolitics, and US foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific era.
The Trump Administration's Compellence Strategy and Iran's Melian Dilemma
An academic analysis applying Thucydidean "Melian Dialogue" theory to Iran's strategic position under Trump's maximum pressure campaign — examining the choices facing a state confronted with coercive hegemony.
Review: Shiraz Diaries & Jallad — A Novel on Contemporary Iran
A critical review of Afrasiabi's novel, situating the work within its Foucauldian intellectual context and examining how the narrative engages with themes of power, surveillance, and resistance in post-revolutionary Iran.
Academic Papers
Democracy, Dialogue, and Afrasiabi: Communicative Action and Iranian Political Thought
Listed in PhilPapers — the comprehensive index of philosophy research. This paper examines the application of Habermasian communicative action theory to Iranian political philosophy and the conditions for democratic dialogue in post-revolutionary Iran.
The Trump Administration's Compellence Strategy and Iran's Melian Dilemma
With co-author Nader Entessar. Applies the Thucydidean "Melian Dialogue" framework to analyse Iran's strategic choices under maximum pressure — a peer-reviewed contribution to the literature on coercive diplomacy and state responses to hegemonic compellence.
Selected Citation — Google Scholar Profile
A featured citation from Kaveh Afrasiabi's Google Scholar profile — drawing on the author's broader body of work on Iranian nuclear policy, international relations theory, and constructivist approaches to Middle Eastern security studies.
Complete Academic Publication Record — Google Scholar
The full searchable record of Kaveh Afrasiabi's academic publications indexed by Google Scholar — spanning peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, journal contributions, and conference papers across three decades of scholarship.
Journal Publications
Telospress · 1999
Communicative Action and Islamic Political Thought
Applies Habermasian communicative action theory to Islamic political philosophy, examining the conditions for rational discourse within Islamic public spheres and the implications for democratisation in the Muslim world.
Read in Telos →Telospress · 1995
Islamic Populism
A landmark academic contribution reexamining the concept of Islamic populism in the context of the Iranian revolution — critically engaging with Foucault, Habermas, and existing sociological literature on the phenomenon. One of the author's most-cited early works.
Read in Telos →World Affairs
The Iran Nuclear Accord and the Future of Nonproliferation: A Constructivist-Critical Approach
Co-authored with Nader Entessar. A theoretically sophisticated analysis of the JCPOA employing constructivist and critical international relations frameworks to examine the nuclear agreement's implications for the non-proliferation regime.
Read Article →Featured Media Interview
Academic Profiles & Databases
5 profilesGoogle Scholar
Full bibliography of academic publications indexed by Google Scholar, including citation counts, co-author networks, and paper abstracts spanning three decades of scholarship.
View Profile →PhilPapers
Philosophical publications archived in PhilPapers — the leading index of philosophy research — covering political philosophy, communicative action theory, and Islamic thought.
View on PhilPapers →LobeLog Archive
Tagged archive on LobeLog — one of the foremost foreign policy analysis platforms — covering Iran policy, nuclear diplomacy, and US foreign affairs commentary.
View Archive →Middle East Eye
Author profile on Middle East Eye featuring a series of analytical essays and opinion pieces on Iranian foreign policy and regional geopolitics.
View Profile →Asia Times
Author archive on Asia Times covering Iranian foreign policy in the context of evolving Asia-Middle East relations, China's regional role, and US grand strategy.
View Archive →Downloadable Publications
Love and Death in Iran
An award-winning short story by Kaveh L. Afrasiabi, Ph.D., available to read in full, free of charge, on Literature.com — one of the largest literary community platforms online.
Read on Literature.comIslamic Populism
The full text of the landmark 1995 Telos article examining Islamic populism through the lens of Foucault, Habermas, and Iranian revolutionary experience. One of the author's most-cited academic contributions.
Download PDFThe Iran Nuclear Accord and the Future of Nonproliferation: A Constructivist-Critical Approach
Full text of the peer-reviewed article co-authored with Nader Entessar, applying constructivist and critical international relations theory to the JCPOA. Published in the Brown Journal of World Affairs, Spring/Summer 2016.
Download PDFGlobal Interfaith Peace Calls for a Peace Brigade to Iraq
The founding communiqué of Global Interfaith Peace (GIP), issued by Dr. Kaveh L. Afrasiabi in 2003, calling on the world's religious communities to create a peace brigade in Baghdad ahead of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
Download PDFCommunicative Theory and Theology: A Reconsideration
Judging by the proliferation of a new body of theological works that have encouraged a deliberate rethinking of the intellectual premises of Christian theology.
Download PDFThe Environmental Movement in Iran: Perspectives From Below and Above
With the evolution of Iran's post-revolutionary society, environmental activism has had a growing impact on the country's environment and the political, cultural, and intellectual arenas.
Download PDFIslam & Ecology
The awakening of ecological consciousness since the 1960s has had an immediate effect on Islamic theology: the basic tenets of Islam have come under the heavy fire of ecologists, and it is perhaps not an overstatement to describe these criticisms as devastating.
Download PDFFrom “The Clash of Civilizations” to “Civilizational Parallelism”
Huntington’s writings on the “clash of civilizations” have generated a great deal of interest in the West and even more in the East among Third World intelligentsia, some of whom have viewed it as yet another exercise in monological “Orientalism.” Yet, the idea of a “clash of civilizations” does not necessarily preclude dialogue.
Download PDFGLOBAL DIALOGUE: The Rise of China
As Kingdom of Heaven shows, there is no consensus in Hollywood regarding Iran and the Muslim world. The divergence of views and interpretations between that film and 300 actually leaves room for hope that the warmongering mindset reflected in the latter is not the only voice in Tinsel Town. Time will tell whether the avalanche of public criticisms of 300's Persian-phobic racism has resonated with the movie industry's decision-makers.
Download PDF