Seyedeh Faezeh Alavi

Faezeh Alavi is doing a PhD at St Andrews in sustainable development, specifically the political and economic determinants of Student Migration.

Her MA dissertation, at the KDI School of Public Policy, in Korea, was on ‘Foreign Lobbying among Unfriendly Countries: The Case of Islamic Republic of Iran’s effort to influence the United States’, including its work to influence Academia.

In addition, she has worked on various projects focusing on economic development and foreign policy including the effect of sanctions on Iran and North Korea, and on education policy in transition economies.

Currently, she is developing a project exploring the Abraham Accords’ impact on trade and foreign investment among signatory countries.

She writes for different outlets and appears as a guest in the News Channels including the Jerusalem Post, i24 News and GB News.

Beyond her policy expertise, she is a visual artist (painter), and she weaves political perspectives into creative outlets. Notably, she has previously donated her Ukraine art project to support the Ukrainian army during the recent war, and currently, she is working on her art exhibitions to bridge the gap between Muslims and Jews and to bring Iranians and Israelis closer together.

She writes: “Today, antisemitism not only targets Jews but also opens the space to silence those from diverse backgrounds working toward peace. As an Iranian in exile who supports regime change in Iran and works towards Iranian-Israeli dialogue, I face cancellation both within and outside academia. As a Muslim Iranian I have witnessed the harsh realities of antisemitism in Britain.”