Iranian History Initiative
Welcome to the Iranian History Initiative at LSE.
The Iranian History Initiative (IHI) was established in 2024 to promote the study of the modern history of Iran and the wider Persianate world at LSE. The IHI brings together faculty and research students at LSE who teach and research various aspects of the history of Iran and the Persianate world from the 16th century to the present, including the history of Safavid Persia, Mughal India, Qajar Persia, and Pahlavi Iran. Dr Roham Alvandi, Associate Professor of International History, was appointed as the founding Director of the Iranian History Initiative
The Iranian History Initiative promotes the production of scholarly work on the modern history of Iran and the Persianate world at LSE and provides an intellectual hub in London for both established and early career historians to exchange knowledge and engage in scholarly debate on the major issues and controversies in the historiography of these fields. The main objectives of the IHI are as follows:
- To promote scholarly research, teaching, and public engagement on the history of modern Iran and the Persianate world at LSE;
- To encourage cooperation and knowledge exchange amongst historians of modern Iran and the Persianate world within the United Kingdom and across Europe;
- To serve as a world-leading institution for the organization of scholarly lectures, workshops, and conferences on the history of modern Iran and the Persianate world;
- To promote and support doctoral students and early-career researchers in the fields of modern Iranian and Persianate history.
The Iranian History Initiative is a recognised research group embedded in the Department of International History at LSE. Through its regular activities and events, the IHI facilitates cooperation on the study of modern Iranian history within the wider LSE community. The IHI is subject to the policies, procedures and regulations of Research Governance at LSE.
The Iranian History Initiative is a recognised research group embedded in the Department of International History at LSE. It draws on the expertise of several faculty, research students, and visiting fellows in the department, as listed below.
Faculty
Faculty Affiliate
Associate Professor of International History
Email: D.Motadel@lse.ac.uk
Research Students
Student Affiliate
PhD Candidate, Department of International History
Thesis title: 'Between Household and State: Landholding Elites in Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Eastern India'
Student Affiliate
PhD Candidate, Department of International History
Thesis title: 'The Enemy of My Enemy: America’s Use of Islam During the Cold War'
Jean-Baptiste Ollieric
Student Affiliate
PhD Candidate, Department of International History
Thesis title: TBC
Student Affiliate
PhD Candidate, Department of International History
Thesis title: 'Friends of the Family: Informal actors in Iran-US relations during the late Pahlavi period (1953-1979)'
Student Affiliate
PhD Candidate, Department of International History
Thesis title: 'Beyond the Headlines: The Representation of Islam in Western Media – a Four Case Study Approach'
Student Affiliate - Mojdehi PhD Fellow
PhD Candidate, Department of International History
Thesis title: 'European Military Advisors and Their Role in the Making of Modern Iran'
Visiting Fellows
N/A
Former Affiliates
Professor Mehrzad Boroujerdi
Visiting Senior FellowResearch interests:
Twentieth and twenty-first century Iranian intellectual history, with particular emphasis on historical identity, encounters with modernity, and political reform. I also specialize in Iranian domestic and international politics since 1900.
Dr Farian Sabahi
Visiting Research FellowResearch interests:
Pahlavi Iran, Gender issues, Religious minorities
Each year the Iranian History Initiative invites a world-leading historian of modern Iran to deliver the Gholam Reza Nikpay Annual Lecture at LSE. This annual lecture was established in 2023 to honour the memory of one of LSE’s most distinguished Iranian alumni, Dr Gholam Reza Nikpay, who served as Minister of Housing from 1966 to 1969, Mayor of Tehran from 1969 to 1977, and subsequently a member of the Iranian Senate.
2024 Annual Lecture (14 November - 6pm to 8pm)
Speaker: Professor Ali Ansari
"History and Historical Writing in Pahlavi Iran"
Listen to the recording HERE
2023 Annual Lecture (26 November - 6pm to 8pm)
Speaker: Professor Houchang Chehabi
Listen to the recording HERE
Check in here to keep up to date with exciting upcoming events being put on by the Iranian History Initiative.
You can view our PAST EVENTS here
The Iranian History Initiative hosts a limited number of visiting fellows each year that are selected by the IHI and appointed by the Department of International History’s Research Committee.
Non-Stipendiary Visiting Fellows
The Iranian History Initiative welcomes expressions of interest from external post-doctoral scholars at all levels, both established and early-career historians, who wish to be affiliated with the Iranian History Initiative during their appointment as an unfunded or externally funded visiting fellow in the Department of International History.
Details on the Department of International History’s visiting fellowship scheme are available .
Prospective visiting fellows who wish to apply under this scheme and be affiliated with the Iranian History Initiative should send a CV and research proposal to Dr Roham Alvandi in the first instance. All visiting fellows are appointed by the Department of International History’s Research Committee.
Dr Nasrollah Moghtader-Mojdehi PhD Scholarship
The Iranian History Initiative and the Department of International History welcome applications for the Dr Nasrollah Moghtader-Mojdehi PhD Scholarship. This studentship is tenable for four years, commencing in September 2025, and covers full fees and an annual stipend of £21,660 for a PhD student in the Department of International History, whose research is focused on any aspect of the modern history of Iran.
This scholarship was established with the generous support of Mr John Moghtader-Mojdehi and the LSE PhD Academy. It honours the memory of Dr Nasrollah Moghtader-Mojdehi, a distinguished Iranian physician, educator, and public servant. From 1966 to 1974, Dr Mojdehi served as Professor of Internal Medicine, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Tehran. He was then appointed Chancellor of the University of Mashhad in 1974, before being elected to the Iranian Senate in 1976. In 1978, he served as Iran’s Minister of Health.
Applications for the Moghtader-Mojdehi Scholarship are particularly welcome from applicants who propose to work on any aspect of the history of Pahlavi Iran (1921-1979); who plan to use Persian-language primary sources in their research; and who have completed their undergraduate degree at a university in Iran.
Further information on how to apply for the MPhil/PhD in International History is available HERE.
Please indicate in your Statement of Academic Purpose that you wish to be considered for the Moghtader-Mojdehi scholarship.
Applications are now closed for 2026
Applicants are encouraged to contact Dr Roham Alvandi (r.alvandi@lse.ac.uk) in the first instance with a CV and PhD research proposal (no longer than 1,500 words), before submitting their application to LSE.
All applications for the Mojdehi PhD Scholarship will be assessed by a selection committee and the scholarship will be awarded by the Department of International History’s Research Committee.
India and the Islamic Heartlands
Gagan Sood
Roham Alvandi
Roham Alvandi
The Making of Iranian Modernity
David Motadel and Roham Alvandi
