Afshin Molavi ( fa, افشین مولوی) is an Iranian-American author and expert on global geo-political risk and geo-economics, particularly the Middle East and Asia. He is co-director of the Emerge85 Lab, a joint research initiative between the Johns Hopkins Foreign Policy Institute and UAE-based Delma Institute. He is a

senior research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for Academic rank, academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the super ...

at both the

New America Foundation New America, formerly the New America Foundation, is a think tank in the United States founded in 1999. It focuses on a range of public policy issues, including national security studies, technology, asset building, health, gender, energy, educa ...

and Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, as well as a senior advisor at

Oxford Analytica Oxford Analytica is an international consulting firm providing strategic analysis of world events. It was founded in 1975 by David Young, an American employee of the National Security Council during the Nixon administration. Clients of Oxford A ...

. At New America, he is co-director of the World Economy Roundtable, an exercise to re-map the global economy in the wake of The Great Recession. In 2005, he was selected by the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

in Davos as a 'Young Global Leader', by a committee of 28 international media leaders chaired by

Queen Rania of Jordan Rania Al-Abdullah ( ar, رانيا العبد الله, ; born Rania Al-Yassin, 31 August 1970) is Queen of Jordan as the wife of King Abdullah II. Rania was born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents. She received her bachelor's degree in busi ...

Life and career

Molavi holds a master's degree in Middle Eastern history and international economics from the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, where he also studied Arabic. A former Dubai-based correspondent for the

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

news agency, Tehran-based correspondent for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', Riyadh-based business and economics writer for the ''

Arab News ''Arab News'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Saudi Arabia. It is published from Riyadh. The target audiences of the paper, which is published in broadsheet format, are businessmen, executives and diplomats. At least as of ...

'', and Washington-based contributor to the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'', Molavi has written widely on the Middle East, US regional policy, geo-economic trends in the Middle East and Asia, and globalization for a wide range of international publications. His articles and op-eds have appeared in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''Foreign Affairs'', ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

'', ''

BusinessWeek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

'', ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...

'', ''

Foreign Policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...

'', ''

Institutional Investor An institutional investor is an entity which pools money to purchase securities, real property, and other investment assets or originate loans. Institutional investors include commercial banks, central banks, credit unions, government-linked co ...

'', the ''

Journal of Commerce ''The Journal of Commerce'' is a biweekly magazine published in the United States that focuses on global trade topics. First published in 1827 in New York, it has a circulation of approximately 15,000. It provides editorial content to manage da ...

'', and ''

The Wilson Quarterly ''The Wilson Quarterly'' is a magazine published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. The magazine was founded in 1976 by Peter Braestrup and James H. Billington. It is noted for its nonpartisan, non-ideolog ...

''. He wrote the 2007 ''

'' cover story on Dubai, entitled "Sudden City." Molavi writes regularly for the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper, ''The National''. Previously, Molavi worked at

International Finance Corporation The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private-sector development in less developed countries. The IFC is a member of t ...

, the private-sector development arm of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

, where he headed civil and media outreach for the Middle East/North Africa and Southern Europe/Central Asia regions. As a fellow at the New America Foundation, Molavi studies the geo-politics and geo-economics of the Middle East and Asia, as well as the links between economic development and democratization. He is currently studying the economic implications of "the Arab Spring." He is also examining the "New Silk Road" — the growing trade, cultural, diplomatic, and business ties between the Middle East and Asia. Molavi is also interested in issues related to global economic development, globalization and culture, and the economics of immigration. He has described "The New Silk Road" at a conference at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on China and the Persian Gulf region, at a World Bank Seminar entitled the East-East Corridor, in an article in ''The Washington Post'' entitled "The New Silk Road", and in the pages of '' The National'', where he wrote about "the meeting of West Asia and East Asia." Molavi's analyses of the 2009

Iranian presidential election The President of Iran is the highest official elected by direct, popular vote, although the President carries out the decrees, and answers to the Supreme Leader of Iran, who functions as the country's head of state.(see Article 110 of the constituti ...

, in which he believes massive fraud took place, were frequently quoted in the media. He praises the

Iranian Constitution of 1906 The Persian Constitution of 1906 ( fa, قانون اساسی مشروطه, Qanun-e Asasi-ye Mishirutâh), was the first constitution of the Sublime State of Persia (Qajar Iran), resulting from the Persian Constitutional Revolution and it was ...

as progressive and calls for American civil society support for Iranians struggling for freedom. Molavi frequently supports Iranian-American civic outreach and youth programs. He has publicly supported the

Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans The Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans, acronym : PAAIA ( fa, پایا, translit=Pāyā), Inc., is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, nonreligious membership organization that aims to "serve the domestic interests of Iranian-American, Iranian Amer ...

(PAAIA). He was a keynote speaker in 2012 at an annual PAAIA event for the "next generation of leaders".

Books

Molavi is the author of ''Persian Pilgrimages: Journeys Across Iran'' (Norton 2002), which was published in paperback under the title, ''The Soul of Iran'' (Norton, 2005). The book was dubbed by ''Foreign Affairs'' "a brilliant tableau of today's Iran" and made the list of Fareed Zakaria's CNN GPS recommended books to read on foreign policy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Molavi, Afshin Iranian journalists Living people World Bank Group people Year of birth missing (living people)