Alex Vatanka specializes in Middle Eastern regional security affairs with a particular focus on Iran. Before joining MEI in 2009, he was a Senior Analyst at Jane’s Information Group in London (2001-2009). Alex is also a Senior Fellow in Middle East Studies at the US Air Force Special Operations School (USAFSOS) at Hurlburt Field and teaches as an Adjunct Professor at DISAS at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. His focus include modern history of Iran; factional politics in the Islamic Republic; political-military relations in Iran; Iranian regional policies (with a particular South Caucasus, Central, Asia, the Gulf States, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan) and Iran’s relations with countries such as the US, China, Russia and the EU states. Born in Tehran, he holds a BA in Politics (Sheffield University, UK), and an MA in International Relations (Essex University, UK), and is fluent in Farsi and Danish. Follow him @AlexVatanka
Education
B.A. in Political Science at Sheffield University; M.A. in International Relations at Essex University
Languages
Farsi, Danish
Countries of Expertise
Iran
Issues of Expertise
Iran domestic and foreign affairs, Iranian military and security forces, Iran-US relations, Political Islam in Middle East
Website
Vatanka.com
Books
- The Battle of the Ayatollahs in Iran: The United States, Foreign Policy and Political Rivalry since 1979 (2020)
- Iran-Pakistan: Security, Diplomacy, and American Influence (2015)
Book chapters
- Authoritarianism Goes Global (2016)
- Handbook on Contemporary Pakistan (2017)
- Russia in the Middle East (2018)
- Winning the Battle, Losing the War: Addressing the Drivers Fueling Armed Non-state Actors and Extremist Groups (2020)
- Global, Regional and Local Dynamics in the Yemen Crisis (2020)
Select articles
- Iran’s IRGC has long kept Khamenei in power (Foreign Policy)
- China’s Great Game in Iran (Foreign Policy)
- Will Iraq get stuck in the middle with Iran? (Foreign Affairs)
- Why Protesters are so angry with Rouhani (Foreign Affairs)
- Iran and Russia Growing Apart (Foreign Affairs)
- Iran’s Bottom-Line in Afghanistan (Atlantic Council)
- Iran Courts China (Foreign Affairs)
- Donald Trump Needs a Good Cop on Iran (Foreign Policy)
- How Deep is Iran’s State? (Foreign Affairs)
- After Rafsanjani (Foreign Affairs)
Sample Video
