Hamid Talebian

Hamid Talebian is a Doctoral Researcher at the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies and the University of Hamburg. His work focuses on Iran's foreign policy towards Africa and Transnational Shia politics and networks. He is affiliated with the DFG-funded research project Explaining Middle-Power Engagement in External Regions (2022–2025), comparing Iranian, Saudi, and Turkish Sub-Saharan Africa policies.

• Education: BA in Political Science (University of Tehran), MPhil in Global Development (specialization in Gender) (University of Bergen)

His research interests lie at the intersection of Global orders and foreign policies, with a particular emphasis on Critical Geopolitics and Anti-Western Alliances in the Middle East-Africa nexus. Recent publications analyze non-state actors in authoritarian public diplomacy, Iran-Israel rivalry in Eastern Africa, and feminist foreign policy implications from Iran's uprisings.

He has contributed to academic knowledge transfer through organizing and speaking at events like the Doctoral Researchers Conference: Researching with the Global South? (2024) and presenting at the European Workshops in International Studies (2024).