He received his PhD in political science (international relations and comparative politics) from Maxwell School of Syracuse University. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on the political dynamics of Iran's nuclear policymaking. By developing and applying a synthetic analytic framework, his dissertation provides an account of how economic sanctions and external military threats became politically salient to Iran’s nuclear policy from 2002 to 2015.
Dr. Bayyenat's research interests revolve around nuclear non-proliferation, politics of economic sanctions, Iranian nuclear and foreign policy, and international politics of the Middle East. He currently works on several journal articles and a book manuscript founded on his dissertation. He recently published a book chapter entitled "The American Factor: U.S. Diplomacy and the Trajectory of Iran's Nuclear Issue, 2002-2015." More recently, he also had an article published in Comparative Strategy which studies the impact of great power rivalries on Iran’s sovereignty during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Prior to embarking on his doctoral studies, he published an article in a British academic journal and a series of book chapters and working papers on various aspects of the international trade system and Iran’s foreign trade regime. His popular foreign policy commentaries have appeared in many newspapers and online journals, including The National Interest, , Asia Times, Foreign Policy In Focus, World Politics Review, Common Dreams, Counterpunch, Eurasia Review, AntiWar.com, Foreign Policy Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Tehran Times, Middle East Online, Online Opinion, American Chronicle, and a number of other newspapers and online journals. He has also been interviewed and quoted by a number of major international news agencies and online journals and has given invited talks at academic institutions and policy research centers on Iran's foreign policy and developments in the U.S.
Mr. Bayyenat has an extensive educational, research, teaching, and professional background in multiple subfields and research areas in international relations and comparative politics. His teaching interests and specialties encompass such broad areas as international relations theories, comparative foreign policy, international security, politics of nuclear weapons, comparative and international political economy, politics of development, national and subnational identity politics, and politics and international relations of the Middle East. He has around seven years of teaching experience primarily in international relations and comparative politics courses at Syracuse University.
Besides academic studies in political science and international relations, he also has practical experience in international trade diplomacy. He worked for several years as international affairs and trade expert for the Ministry of Commerce of Iran, covering primarily the accession of Iran to the World Trade Organization. As part of his job, he was involved in a number of bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations between Iran and its trade partners, including the European Union and other regional economic organizations, such as the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). Dr. Bayyenat has also participated as a trade expert in many high-level expert meetings and international conferences, including the WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong in 2005 and several expert meetings sponsored by UNCTAD and WTO in Geneva, Switzerland. He also worked for two years for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs following his graduation from the School of International Relations, affiliated with Iran’s MFA.
Below is a chronological listing of his university education experience:
-Ph D in political science, Maxwell School, Syracuse University
-MA in international peace studies, University of Notre Dame
-MA in international relations, University of Tehran
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