Massoumeh Torfeh

Experience Keywords

Iran; Afghanistan; Central Asia; Islamic extremism; civil society; democratisation processes; international media; press freedom; strategic communication

Research Summary

The politics and media of Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia form the core of my interest. Political challenges in these areas such as the revolution in Iran, the National Unity Government and warlordism in Afghanistan, the impact of extremism, Taliban, IS and the US and EU policy on the region; Iran''s regional role; human rights, civil society, women, the role of media in creating good governance in these countries are all part of what I always read and write about. The role of the UN and diplomacy in conflict resolution through dialogue is a subject I follow with great interest. When posted with the UN in conflict zones I implement my ideas for creating peace and dialogue through specially designed communication strategies for increasing awareness and changing attitudes. My PhD in Political Science from LSE is on The Causes of the Failure of Democracy in Iran. I have written two books on "The BBC and British Interests in Iran," and "Cultural Revolution in Iran". Regular commentator on the Guardian, Aljazeera op-eds, and regular pundit in BBC TV and radio, Aljazeera English, also Sky, RT,Ch4.

Massoumeh Torfeh is now cooperating with the LSE Middle East Centre, working on the contemporary politics of Iran, especially Iran’s regional involvement in Iraq and Syria.

On May 7, 2016 Dr. Torfeh will be presenting a paper at the "Communication and Conflict: Iraq and Syria Conference" at SOAS speaking on “Trajectory of Iran’s Regional Ambitions: as seen through Iran’s Arabic language media network”.

Research Countries

Afghanistan; Central Asia; Iran

Languages

Dari [Spoken: Fluent, Written: Fluent]; Persian [Spoken: Fluent, Written: Fluent]