Robert Asaadi, Ph.D.
Full-time faculty, Political Science
Internationalization Steering Committee, Chair
West Coast Model European Union, Faculty Adviser
Education
Ph.D. Political Science, University of Minnesota (2016)
M.A. Political Science, University of Minnesota (2012)
B.S. Political Science, University of Iowa (2008)
Selected Work
Publications
Book. Postrevolutionary Iran: The Leader, the People, and the Three Powers. Joseph C. Parry, Ed. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. April 2021. Reissued in paperback, August 2022.
Book review. Hidden Liberalism: Burdened Visions of Progress in Modern Iran. Hussein Banai. Cambridge University Press: 2020. Political Science Quarterly, Summer 2022.
Journal Article. Tanaomi, Mohammad Mehdi, and Asaadi, Robert. “A Comparative Study of Faculty Members’ Career Advancement (Promotion) Systems in the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran: Case Analysis of the University of Tehran and Portland State University,” International Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 6, No. 4, 111-121. (2017)
Book review, The Iran-Iraq War. Pierre Razoux (trans. Nicholas Elliott). Harvard University Press: 2015. H-Net Reviews. August 2016.
Academic presentations
“The Hormuz Peace Endeavor (HOPE) and the Axis of Resistance: Competing Visions for Regional Security Architecture in the Persian Gulf,” Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Annual Conference. November 2024
“Political Culture, Crisis, and Attitudinal Change in Contemporary Iran,” Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, Doha Graduate Institute, International Winter School 2023, Doha, Qatar. January 2023.
“Russia’s Relations with Iran and Syria After the Invasion of Ukraine: Bilateral and Regional Consequences,” International Studies Association (ISA) – West Annual Conference 2022, Pasadena, CA. September 2022.
“Executive Power in the Islamic Republic of Iran in Theory and Practice,” Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) Annual Conference. April 2021.
“Institutional Power Sharing in the Islamic Republic of Iran: The Potential for Change in Theory and Practice,” Western Political Science Association (WPSA) Conference. April 2021.
“Analyzing Iranian Media and Domestic Politics in the Trump Era,” Willamette University, Salem, OR. October 2019.
“Iranian Domestic Politics after the U.S. Withdrawal from the Nuclear Deal,” International Studies Association (ISA) – West Annual Conference 2019, Pasadena, CA, Winner of Best Faculty Paper Award. September 2019.
“Reading the Iran Nuclear Deal alongside the U.S.-Cuba Thaw of 2015: Making, Taking, and Contesting Norms of Appropriateness,” Global South Caucus (GSCIS) of the International Studies Association (ISA), Havana Workshop, ‘Exploring the Local in International Relations’ Havana, Cuba. July 2017.
“Understanding the Rogue State Concept: the Iranian Case,” Eighth Annual Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) Annual Conference, Washington, D.C. October 2015.
“Rogue States and the Production of Order in Global Politics,”Decolonizing Epistemologies, Methodologies and Ethics: Postcolonial-Feminist Interventions, Frankfurt Research Center for Postcolonial Studies (FRCPS), Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany. July 2015.
“Rethinking Rogue Statehood: Iran and the Arab Spring,”Provost’s Global Forum 2015: The Arab Spring in a Global Context University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. May 2015.
Public lectures
“Iran’s Next Chapter: What does Raisi’s death mean for the region?” World Oregon. June 2024
“Iran at a Crossroads,” World Oregon, Great Decisions Lecture Series, Portland, OR. March 2023.
“Iran and the U.S.,” Council on Foreign Affairs, Great Decisions Lecture Series, Tyler, Texas branch of the Foreign Policy Association. February 2023.
Book talk, Postrevolutionary Iran: The Leader, the People, and the Three Powers, Iran1400Project, Spotlighting an Author Series session. January 2023.
“The Situation in Iran,” presentation and Q&A session following screening of film A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Cinema 21 Theater, sponsored by the Middle East Studies Center, Portland State University. November 2022.
“Postrevolutionary Iran,” Iowa City Foreign Relations Council, Iowa City, IA. September 2022.
“Persian Gulf Security” World Oregon, Great Decisions Lecture Series, Portland, OR. February 2021.
“Social Movements in Iran: Lessons for Activism” TEDxPortlandStateUniversity, Invited Speaker, 2020 theme: Our Time Is Now. September 2020.
Media appearances
Print interview. “Perspective in Context: World order is fundamentally defined by the principle of international anarchy” Iran Daily (Tehran), Mohammad Memarian, Editor-in-Chief. July 2022.
Print Interview. “Perspective in Context: Global normative consensus around liberal values has seen significant erosion” Iran Daily (Tehran), Mohammad Memarian, Editor-in-Chief. July 2022.
Print interview. “Canceled wrestling bout highlights Iran-US issues” Asia Times (Hong Kong), Article by Kourosh Ziabari. February 2022.
Television interview. “Scope with Waqar Rizvi” Indus News (English language broadcaster in Pakistan), Segment Producer Zeshan Khalid. July 2021.
Podcast interview. “Postrevolutionary Iran,” Dispatch 7. Global Affairs podcast. Hosted by Professor Shawn Smallman, Portland State University. May 2021.
Television interview. “Scope with Waqar Rizvi” Indus News (English language broadcaster in Pakistan), Segment Producer Mahnoor Feroz. May 2021.
Television interview. “U.S. Foreign Policy toward Iran,” Ofogh channel (Iran state television), Segment Producer Mohammad Memarian. April 2017.
Study Abroad
Program Student, summer 2007, Russian Politics and Foreign Policy, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (Московского государственного института), Moscow, Russia.
Program Student, summer 2005, The History of World War II and the Holocaust, Jagiellonian University (Uniwersytet Jagielloński), Krakow, Poland.