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, 43K)
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
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
November 6, 2007
Audio
Listen to 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
Video
French author and academic Olivier Roy discusses 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 Western Europe, Religion, Terrorism
November 6, 2007
Transcript
The roundtable series on Global Islamic Politics facilitates discussion and debate on key issues that will shape the direction of politics in the Muslim world in the coming years and their ensuing impact on U.S. foreign policy. Olivier Roy discusses the future of radical Islam in Europe.
See more in Europe/Russia, Middle East, Society and Culture, Immigration, Migration, Religion, Terrorism
September 11, 2007
Other Report
Six CFR experts provide their own analysis of the Petraeus and Crocker testimony.
See more in Iraq, Defense Strategy, Wars and Warfare
May 2007
Academic Module
As nations around the world struggle with the threat of militant Islam, Vali Nasr, one of the leading scholars on the Middle East, provides us with the rare opportunity to understand the political and theological antagonisms within Islam itself.
See more in Middle East, Religion
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.
In The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State, Noah Feldman tells the story behind the increasingly popular call for the establishment of the sharia—the law of the traditional Islamic state—in the modern Muslim world.
Complete list of CFR Books.
This report outlines the nature of the challenges in Pakistan's tribal areas, formulates strategies for addressing those challenges, and distills the strategies into realistic policy proposals worthy of consideration by the incoming administration.
This report analyzes the debate over U.S. use of assurances against torture, explaining the contexts in which they are used, how they can be conveyed, and what they can contain, and recommends a number of ways to respond to criticism so that the United States can continue using assurances.
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
The David Rockefeller Studies Program is CFR’s “think tank.” Its work is integral to achieving CFR’s goal of contributing to the foreign policy debate. Fellows in the Studies Program do this by researching, writing, and commenting on the most important challenges facing the United States and the world.
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