Goodarzi Presents at SIPRI

Earlier this month, Jubin Goodarzi, Associate Professor and Deputy Head of the International Relations Department at Webster Geneva Campus traveled to Sweden where he gave a lecture entitled "New Directions in Iran's Foreign Policy?: the Domestic, Regional and International Dimensions" on Friday, April 15 at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). SIPRI was founded fifty years ago in 1966, and is considered to be the foremost peace research institute internationally. Jubin Goodarzi visited the institute at the invitation of SIPRI Director Dan Smith, who is a prolific writer, and has published several books on international affairs, peace and conflict studies, and Middle East politics.

In his talk, Goodarzi focused on Tehran's foreign policy since 2013 when Hassan Rouhani became president. He discussed the domestic challenges, including factional disputes that have an impact on Iranian foreign policy formulation and implementation. On the regional level, he spoke about Iran's rivalry with Saudi Arabia, and Tehran's involvement in the conflicts in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere in the Middle East. With regard to developments on the international stage, Goodarzi analyzed the agreement on Iran's nuclear program reached last year between Tehran and six major world powers, and the prospects for improved relations with the European Union and the Untied States. The lecture was well attended. Among the attendees were ambassadors, members of the diplomatic corps in Stockholm, scholars, students, members of NGOs and private companies. The lecture was followed by a 45-60 minute discussion/question-and-answer period.