Event Details

In this talk, Professor Simon Mabon and Dr Shabnam Holliday critically reflect on the nature of the war in Iran and its impact on the people in Iran, considering how history has shaped the present and what the future might bring.

The war between the Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel and the United States has had a devastating impact on the lives of people in Iran and across the Middle East/ West Asia. In this talk, Professor Simon Mabon from Lancaster university and Dr Shabnam Holliday from Plymouth university critically reflect on the nature of the war and its impact on people in Iran, considering how history has shaped the present and what the future might bring.

This is a conflict that impacts us all indirectly or directly. In an age of misinformation, fearmongering and scapegoating, come along to hear from experts who will be sharing their evidence-based and factual perspectives on the realities of this deadly conflict.

This event is a collaboration between the LU School of Global Affairs and the Decolonising Lancaster University Network.

PANELLISTS:

Dr Shabnam Holliday is an Associate Professor in International Relations in the School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Plymouth. Her research interests are focused on three areas: The role of ideas in Iran and their relationship with domestic and international politics. She has looked at the ideas of ‘nation’, ‘democracy’, and ‘the people’ in the context of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Her publications have looked at how these ideas are constructed and the meanings that are attached to them. Building on this, she is currently working on the idea of ‘world order.’ She is the editor of Sovereignty in Iran: Challenges to Eurocentrism from Ancient Iran to the Islamic Republic (Edinburgh University Press, 2026).

Professor Simon Mabon is Chair of International Politics and Discipline Lead of International Relations in the School of Global Affairs at Lancaster University. His work falls at the intersection of Middle East Studies, International Relations and (International) Political Theory. He is the author of Schism: The Story of Sectarianism in the Modern Middle East (Yale University Press, 2026), The Struggle for Supremacy in the Middle East (Cambridge University Press, 2023) and Houses built on Sand (Manchester University Press, 2020) amongst others.

Tuesday 19 May, 10.30 am - 12 noon (BST), ONLINE on Microsoft Teams.

Free but requires registration! CLICK HERE OR BELOW TO REGISTER

Registered attendees will receive a teams invite closer to the date.

Open to the public. Please promote in your networks.