home > the cfr think tank > experts > vali r. nasr
Adjunct Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies
Contact Info:
Phone: +1-619-339-9192
E-mail: vali.nasr@tufts.edu
Location:
Boston, MA
Media downloads:
High-resolution photo (JPG, 748K)
One-page bio (PDF, 59K)
CV (PDF, 156K)
Author of The Shia Revival, Democracy in Iran, and The Islamic Leviathan. Professor of international politics at Tufts University. Current work examines Iraq, Iran, and democracy in the Islamic world.
Expertise:Iran; Iraq; Pakistan; political Islam; comparative politics of South Asia and the Middle East; democratization in Muslim world.
Experience:Professor, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University (2007-present); Professor, Naval Postgraduate School (2003-2007); Visiting Professor, Stanford University (2006); Associate Professor, University of San Diego (1996-2002); Assistant Professor, University of San Diego (1992-96); Visiting Associate Professor, University of California, San Diego (1998-2001); Visiting Assistant Professor, Tufts University (1991-92); Associate, Gustav E. von Grunebaum Center for Near East Studies, University of California, Los Angeles (1994-2004); Faculty Associate, Harvard University (1991-93).
Honors:Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University (2006); Carnegie Scholar, Carnegie Corporation of New York (2006); Research Initiation Program for fieldwork in Turkey and Indonesia, Naval Postgraduate School (2003-present); University Professor Fellowship, University of San Diego (2002); research and writing grant for study of sectarian conflict in the Middle East and South Asia, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (2000-2001); faculty research grant for fieldwork in Iran (1998-99); faculty research grant for fieldwork in Malaysia (1996-97); faculty research grant for archival work in England (1996-97); research fellowship for study of the institutionalization of ethnic violence in South Asia politics, Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation (1996); research grant, American Institute of Pakistan Studies (1995-96); faculty research grant for fieldwork in Morocco, University of San Diego (1995-96); faculty research grant for fieldwork in Egypt (1994-95); research and teaching fellowship, research grant, American Institute of Pakistan Studies (1993); research grant, James Irvine Foundation (1993); Rockefeller Resident Fellowship, University of Texas at Austin (1992-93); advance research grant, Joint Committee on South Asia of the Social Science Research Council and the Council of Learned Societies (1992); post-doctoral fellowship, Foundation for Iranian Studies (1990-91); research grant, American Institute of Pakistan Studies (1989-90).
Selected Publications:The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future (W.W. Norton & Company, 2006); Democracy in Iran: History and the Quest for Liberty (coauthor, Oxford University Press, 2006); The Islamic Leviathan: Islam and the Making of State Power (Oxford University Press, 2001); Mawdudi and the Making of Islamic Revivalism (Oxford University Press, 1996); The Vanguard of the Islamic Revolution: The Jama`at-i Islami of Pakistan (University of California Press, 1994); Oxford Dictionary of Islam (editor, Oxford University Press, 2003); Expectation of the Millennium: Shi`ism in History (coeditor, State University of New York Press, 1989).
"Surging into the Abyss" (from America Abroad; December 21, 2006)
"Should We Worry about the Saudi Threats?" (from America Abroad; December 18, 2006)
Current Research Projects
September 22, 2008
Must Read
Dealing with Iran and its nuclear program will be an urgent priority for the next president
See more in United States, Iran, Defense Strategy, Weapons of Mass Destruction
September 5, 2008
Transcript
Symposium on Iran focusing on policy options and recommendations for the next administration.
See more in Iran, Economics, Society and Culture
September 5, 2008
Audio
Listen to experts discuss current U.S. policy toward Iran and options for the next administration.
See more in Iran, U.S. Strategy and Politics, U.S. Election 2008
September 5, 2008
Video
Watch experts discuss current U.S. policy toward Iran and options for the next administration.
See more in Iran, U.S. Strategy and Politics, U.S. Election 2008
September 3, 2008
Audio
Listen to experts discuss U.S. foreign policy with regard to the Middle East as part of a three-day symposium during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, cosponsored with the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
This symposium was underwritten by Chevron Corporation, The Coca-Cola Company, the Stanford Financial Group, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
See more in Middle East, U.S. Strategy and Politics, U.S. Election 2008
September 3, 2008
Video
Watch experts discuss U.S. foreign policy with regard to the Middle East as part of a three-day symposium during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, cosponsored with the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
This symposium was underwritten by Chevron Corporation, The Coca-Cola Company, the Stanford Financial Group, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
See more in Middle East, U.S. Strategy and Politics, U.S. Election 2008
September 3, 2008
Transcript
A Panel discusses the existing problems in the Greater Middle East, and possible solutions.
See more in United States, Middle East, National Security and Defense, Democracy and Human Rights, Energy Security, Proliferation, Terrorism
June 19, 2008
Op-Ed
Washington Post
Iran’s goals of building a mutually beneficial relationship with Iraq and of undermining the American occupation are at odds with each other, writes Vali Nasr. These conflicting objectives have resulted in Tehran’s first major setback in Iraq.
See more in Iran, Iraq, Conflict Assessment
June 12, 2008
Audio
Listen to CFR fellows Stephen Biddle and Vali Nasr discuss their recent trip to Iraq.
See more in Iraq
June 12, 2008
Transcript
Vali Nasr and Stephen Biddle, Senior Fellows at the Council on Foreign Relations, discuss the political climate and the status of security forces in Iraq following their recent visits to the region.
See more in Iraq, Wars and Warfare, Democracy and Human Rights, Nation Building
March 26, 2008
Interview
Vali R. Nasr, a leading expert on Shiites, says the fighting in southern Iraq amounts to a power struggle between pro and anti-U.S. Shiite militias. The country’s Shiite prime minister, he says, is “irrelevant.”
See more in Iran, Iraq, Conflict Assessment
February 13, 2008
Audio
Listen to Vali R. Nasr, CFR adjunct senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies, lead a conversation on the implications of U.S.-Iran relations for the future of the Middle East, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call Series.
December 14, 2007
Op-Ed
Christian Science Monitor
Vali Nasr and Ray Takeyh write that the NIE may “undermine the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who thrives on international crisis and tension.”
See more in Iran
December 9, 2007
Op-Ed
Washington Post
Vali Nasr writes that “ Ahmadinejad makes the noise, but Khamenei pulls the strings” in Iran.
December 6, 2007
Op-Ed
International Herald Tribune
Vali Nasr and Ray Takeyh argue that the U.S. strategy for containing Iran is based on false assumptions.
See more in Iran
December 5, 2007
Audio
Listen to Vali R. Nasr and Ray Takeyh discuss their Foreign Affairs article, "The Costs of Containing Iran," and U.S. policy toward Iran following the findings of the National Intelligence Estimate released in December 2007.
See more in Iran, Intelligence, Proliferation
December 5, 2007
Transcript
Panels discuss U.S. policy toward Iran following the recent release of the National Intelligence Estimate.
See more in Iran, International Peace and Security, Proliferation
January/February 2008
Foreign Affairs Article — Summary
The Bush administration wants to contain Iran by rallying the support of Sunni Arab states and now sees Iran's containment as the heart of its Middle East policy: a way to stabilize Iraq, declaw Hezbollah, and restart the Arab-Israeli peace process. But the strategy is unsound and impractical, and it will probably further destabilize an already volatile region.
See more in Iran, Conflict Prevention
November 6, 2007
Video
Watch French author and academic Olivier Roy discuss his views of Islam in Europe, noting a rejection of radicalism among the mainstream and bemoaning government policies that "stir up the problems we wish to diffuse."
See more in Europe/Russia, Religion
November 6, 2007
Op-Ed
Christian Science Monitor
See more in Pakistan, Conflict Assessment
In The Closing of the American Border, Edward Alden goes behind the scenes to tell the story of the Bush administration’s struggle to balance security and openness in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
In Termites in the Trading System, Jagdish Bhagwati reveals how the rapid spread of preferential trade agreements endangers the world trading system.
America Between the Wars explores how the decisions and debates of the years between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Twin Towers shaped the events, arguments, and politics of the world we live in today.
Complete list of CFR Books.
In this report, CFR Senior Fellow Michael A. Levi analyzes the potential use of deterrence in preventing terrorist groups from acquiring nuclear weapons and recommends a new approach to U.S. declaratory policy, as well as ways to improve U.S. capabilities to determine the sources of terrorist attacks.
In this report, Bruce W. MacDonald illuminates the strategic landscape of military space competition between the United States and China and highlights the dangers and opportunities the United States confronts in space.
Complete list of Council Special Reports.
For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:
Gary Samore
Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
+1.212.434.9627
gsamore@cfr.org
Sebastian Mallaby
Director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for
Geoeconomic Studies, Deputy Director of Studies, and Paul A. Volcker Senior
Fellow for International Economics
smallaby@cfr.org
Janine Hill
Deputy Director of Studies Administration
+1.212.434.9753
jhill@cfr.org
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