Iran Election Experts Guide

Faculty experts at Columbia University are available to speak to the news media about the election in Iran, with unique perspectives ranging from international affairs to national security and history.

Richard Bulliet

Richard Bulliet

Bulliet specializes in Middle East history and the social and institutional history of Islamic countries, as well as modern Islam. A former director of the University’s Middle East Institute and a columnist for Agence Global (AG), his many works include the books The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization; The Camel and the Wheel; and Islam: The View from the Edge. He also has written on the history of the role of animals in human society.

History of the Middle East and North Africa; Islamic history; modern Islam; the role of Islam in daily life; Americans and the Muslim world; Iran
Professor of History, Department of History
David Epstein

David Epstein

Epstein’s expertise covers democracy studies as well as political economy, or how economic systems generate resources through production and trade, both domestically and internationally, and how political systems allocate and reallocate these goods. He has consulted for the World Bank and sits on the federal government's Political Instability Task Force. His recent writings include "Democratic Transitions" and The Future of the Voting Rights Act. Along with colleague Sharyn O’Halloran, he received the 2005 Decade of Behavior Research Award in recognition of their work on the impact of racial redistricting on the democratic process.

Political economy; American politics; redistricting
Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Science; co-director, Center on Political Economy and Comparative Institutional Analysis
Rashid Khalidi

Rashid Khalidi

Khalidi studies the history of the modern Middle East, in particular the emergence of national identity and the involvement of external powers. From 1991 to 1993, he served as an adviser to the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid and Washington Arab-Israeli peace negotiations. Khalidi has written extensively on his field of expertise, including the books The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood and Resurrecting Empire: Western Footprints and America's Perilous Path in the Middle East.

Palestinian history and politics; history of Syria, Lebanon and Egypt; nationalism in the Arab world
Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies and Literature, Department of History, and director, Middle East Institute
Gary Sick

Gary Sick

Sick, who served on the National Security Council under U.S. Presidents Ford, Carter and Reagan, was the principal White House aide for Iran during the Iranian Revolution and the hostage crisis. A retired captain in the U.S. Navy, Sick served in the Persian Gulf, North Africa and the Mediterranean. He is the author of All Fall Down: America’s Fateful Encounter With Iran and October Surprise: America’s Hostages in Iran and the Election of Ronald Reagan.

Iran; Persian Gulf
Senior Research Scholar, Middle East Institute, and Adjunct Professor of International Affairs, School of International and Public Affairs
Sreenath Sreenivasan

Sreenath Sreenivasan

Sreenivasan monitors broad trends as journalism embraces technology, as well as new developments in new media and technology. A co-founder of SAJA, the South Asian Journalists Association, he is an expert on coverage of foreign affairs, Asia and South Asia, the ethnic press and diversity in the media. He also appears weekly on WNBC’s morning news (New York City area) to report on technology.

New media; ethnic press; diversity and the press; South Asia
Professor of Professional Practice and Dean of Students, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
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