politics, history, political economy and international relations of the Middle East and Central Asia, and the role of Islam in these two regions.

Amin Saikal AM, FASSA is Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Islamic Studies, ANU.

Professor Saikal is a specialist in the politics, history, political economy and international relations of the Middle East and Central Asia, and the role of Islam in these regoins. He has been a Visiting Fellow at Princeton University, Cambridge University and the Institute of Development Studies (University of Sussex), a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow in International Relations (1983-1988), and Visiting Pan-Asia Distinguished Scholar, Indiana University. In April 2006, he was appointed Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to the international community and to education, and as an author and adviser. He is an elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Science in Australia. He is author of numerous works on the Middle East, Central Asia, political Islam, and Russia. His books include Iran Rising: The Survival and Future of the Islamic Republic, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2021; The Spectre of Afghanistan: Security of Central Asia, London: I.B. Tauris, 2021 - co-author; Islam beyond Borders: The Ummah in World Politics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019 - co-author; Iran at the Crossroads, Cambridge: Polity Press, 2016; Zone of Crisis: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq, London: I.B. Tauris, 2014; Democracy and Reform in the Middle East and Asia: Social Protest and Authoritarian Rule after the Arab Spring, London: I.B. Tauris, 2014 (co-editor); Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival, London: I.B. Tauris, 2012; The Rise and Fall of the Shah: Iran from Autocracy to Religious Rule, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009; Islam and the West: Conflict or Co-operation? (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003); Democratization in the Middle East: Experiences, Struggle, Challenges, New York: United Nations University Press, 2003; Russia: In Search of its Future (Cambridge University Press, 1995); The Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan (Cambridge University Press, 1989); (co-editor).

Professor Saikal has also published many articles in international journals, as well as numerous feature articles in major international newspapers, including the International Herald Tribune. He is also a frequent commentator on radio and television.

Projects and Grants

Grants are drawn from ARIES. To add Projects or Grants please contact your College Research Office.

• Afghanistan and Central Asia: regional security dynamics in a new strategic environment (Primary Investigator)
• Islam Beyond Borders: Umma in World Politics 
• Democratizing the Middle East: Implications of Washington's Policies (Primary Investigator)
• Weak States, Strong Societies in World Politics, World Governance/One Earth Foundation Project (Primary Convenor)
• Middle East Project, Council of Arab-Australian Relations, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Primary Convenor)