Author: Acharya Amitav Acharya

Distinguished Professor Amin Saikal AM FASSA is the Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies (Middle East and Central Asia) at The Australian National University. He is a world-leading expert in the politics, history, religion and international relations of the Middle East and Central Asia. He has published extensively. His recent works include Iran at the Crossroads (Polity, 2016), Zones of Crisis: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq (IB Tauris, 2014), Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival (IB Tauris, 2012) and the second edition of his classic The Rise and Fall of the Shah (Princeton University Press, 1980 and 2009). Professor Saikal has previously held visiting positions at Princeton University, Cambridge University, University of Sussex, Indiana University and the Rockefeller Foundation. He is a frequent commentator in international news media, including The Guardian, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The International Herald Tribune.