Dr Alam Saleh is Honorary Senior Lecturer in Iranian Studies at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University. Dr Saleh is also Reviews Editor for the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. He received his PhD, MA and BA from the School of Politics and International Studies at the University of Leeds. Dr Saleh is Fellow of Higher Education Academy and he has previously taught undergraduate and graduate courses on International Relations, Security Studies and Middle East Politics at Lancaster, Exeter, Durham, Leeds, and Bradford Universities. Dr Saleh has also been engaged with policy practitioners and external professional bodies such as the UK Ministry of Defence, NATO, European Council on Foreign Relations, and has also consulted for Transparency International Defence & Security, UNICEF, and the BBC. 

BA (Hons.), MRes, PhD, University of Leeds, UK.

Dr Saleh’s research concentrates on exploring the evolution of the concept of security from its traditional ‘realist’ base through to more ‘broadened’ approaches, especially to study societal security issues in the Middle East with a key focus being upon understanding Iran’s position in the region. Since Dr Saleh’s research has its roots in both Iranian Studies and the broader international relations of the Middle East, it increasingly seeks to examine the intersection between country-specific studies and a wider understanding of the regional system in order to examine the kinds of challenges faced in the region in terms of a range of “softer” security concerns, which are often felt most acutely in the domestic politics of individual states. Other research projects, currently in the planning stage, address the role of transitional identities in security and identity production in the Middle East.