Shireen Tahmaaseb Hunter is an independent scholar. Until 2019, she was a Research Professor at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU) at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

in Washington, D.C., with which she had been associated since 2005, as Visiting Fellow and then Visiting Professor. She became an honorary fellow of ACMCU in September 2019.

Career

From 1965 to 1979 during the Pahlavi era, Hunter served as a diplomat in the Iranian ministry of Foreign Affairs. She was at the

Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. From its founding in 1962 until 1987, it was an affiliate of Georgetown University, initially named the Center for Strategic and Inte ...

in Washington from 1983 to 2005, as director of the Islam Program, 1998–2005, deputy director of the Middle East Program, 1983–1992, and senior associate (while in Brussels), 1993–1998. She also taught courses at Georgetown,

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

, and

Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...

. She was Academic Fellow at

Carnegie Corporation The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Since its founding, the Carnegie Corporation has endowed or othe ...

. From 1993 to 1997, Hunter was visiting senior fellow at the

Centre for European Policy Studies The Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) is a leading think tank based in Brussels, Belgium. It was established in 1983. Its primary tasks are to conduct rigorous, evidence-based policy research on European and global issues, to serve as a ...

(CEPS) in Brussels and directed CEPS' Mediterranean Program. She was guest scholar at the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

and research fellow at the

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Center for International Affairs. Her ACMCU profile notes that she has written 16 books and monographs and has contributed to the publication of 12 books and monographs. In addition, she has written over 100 book chapters and journal articles, and over 500 opinion pieces. Hunter has lectured widely in the United States and the Middle East amongst others and has extensive media experience.

Views

Hunter is known to have authored one of the first articles on the question of identity within the post-Soviet Republic of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. Hunter's field research about Azerbaijan's political elite and their pan-Turkist irredentist views towards Iran puts emphasis on the detestation by such elites of Iranian Azeri

nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

. Her research also put emphasis on how the ruling establishment in Azerbaijan's capital of

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

are anxious about a feasible irredentist counter-claim by Iran and its Azeri elites on the Republic of Azerbaijan, and how they fear that ethnic nationalist irredentism may boomerang back at them. According to Hunter, the existence of pro-Iranian sentiments among the inhabitants of the southern parts of the Azerbaijan Republic serve as evidence that concerns of this kind are perhaps legitimate.

Personal life

Hunter was born in

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and is an Iranian Azeri. She is married to Robert E. Hunter. In 2021, Hunter was named by

Carnegie Corporation of New York The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Since its founding, the Carnegie Corporation has endowed or othe ...

as an honoree of the

Great Immigrants Award The Great Immigrants Award is an annual initiative by the Carnegie Corporation of New York to honor naturalized citizens of the United States who have made significant contributions to American society, democracy, and culture. Established in 200 ...

Books by Shireen Hunter

* ''Iran Divided: Historic Roots of Iranian Debates in Identity, Culture and Governance in the 21st Century'',

Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an American independent academic publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns ...

, September 2014. * ''Iran's Foreign Policy in the Post-Soviet Era, Resisting the New International Order'', Praeger, 2010. * ''Reformist Voices of Islam : Mediating Islam and Modernity'' (editor and contributor),

M.E. Sharpe M. E. Sharpe, Inc., an academic publisher, was founded by Myron Emanuel Sharpe in 1958 with the original purpose of publishing translations from Russian in the social sciences and humanities. These translations were published in a series of jou ...

, June 2008. * ''Islam and Human Rights: Advancing a US-Muslim Dialogue'' (co-editor), CSIS Press, 2005. * ''Modernization, Democracy, and Islam'' (co-editor and contributor), Praeger, 2005 (Translated into Persian.) * ''Islam in Russia: The Politics of Identity and Security'', M.E. Sharpe, 2004. * ''Strategic Developments in Eurasia After September 11'' (editor),

Frank Cass Frank Cass (11 July 1930 – 9 August 2007) was a British publisher. He was the founder of Frank Cass & Co., an imprint of books and journals of history and the social sciences acquired by Taylor & Francis in 2003. Early life Frank Cass was born ...

, 2003. * ''Islam: Europe's Second Religion'' (editor and contributor), Praeger, 2002. * ''The Future of Islam-West Relations: Clash of Civilizations or Peaceful Coexistence?'', CSIS/Praeger, 1998. (Translated into Persian and Arabic.) * ''Central Asia Since Independence'', CSIS/Westview Press, 1996. * ''The Transcaucasus in Transition: Nation-Building and Conflict'', CSIS/Praeger, 1994. * ''Iran After Khomeini'', Praeger, 1992. * ''Iran and the World: Continuity in a Revolutionary Decade'',

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...

, 1990. * ''The Politics of Islamic Revivalism: Diversity and Unity'' (editor and contributor), Indiana University Press, 1988. * ''U.S. and the Middle East: Emerging Economic and Political Trends'' (editor),

Westview Press Westview Press was an American publishing company headquartered in Boulder, Colorado founded in 1975. Field of work Westview primarily publishes textbooks. History Westview Press was founded by Frederick A. Praeger in 1975. Praeger sold ...

, July 1985. * ''OPEC and the Third World: The Politics of Aid'', Croom Helm Ltd. and Indiana University Press, 1984.

References

External links

*
Shireen Hunter
at American Iranian Council {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Shireen Iranian political scientists Scientists from Tabriz University of Tehran alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni Georgetown University faculty George Mason University faculty Washington College faculty 1945 births Living people Iranian expatriates in Switzerland Iranian expatriates in England American people of Iranian-Azerbaijani descent American expatriates in Switzerland American expatriates in England Women political scientists 20th-century Iranian women 21st-century Iranian women writers 20th-century American women 21st-century American women People of Pahlavi Iran