Naser Ghobadzadeh

Naser Ghobadzadeh did his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in political science at Shahid Beheshti (Ex-National) University, Iran. Between 2002 and 2003 he worked as editor-in-chief of the foreign policy service of the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA). Then he joined the UN agencies in Iran where he worked as a communications officer with UNDP and as head of the Information Resource Centre (IRC), UNICEF office, Tehran.

Today, he is a PhD candidate in the Department of Government and I.R., University of Sydney, Australia. He holds an Endeavour International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (EIPRS) and an International Postgraduate Award (IPA). In 2003, his Master’s thesis, which he delivered in the Persian language, was chosen as the best dissertation at the Annual Festival of the Best Dissertation and Research of the Year. His latest book entitled “A Study of People’s Divergence from Ruling System”, scrutinizes value changes in Iran and their impact on Iran’s politico-religious mosaic.

Working at the intersection of religion and politics, Naser’s research areas of interest include state-religion relations, Islam, secularism, Middle East politics and Iran.

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Benjamin Moffitt

Benjamin is a PhD candidate and Postgraduate Teaching Fellow in the Department and Government and International Relations. He holds an Australian Postgraduate Award and University of Sydney Merit Award. He was awarded the inaugural Sydney Democracy Initiative PhD Collaboration Fellowship at the WZB (Berlin Social Science Research Centre) in 2011.

Working at the intersection of political theory and political sociology, Benjamin’s research focuses on the relationship between contemporary populism and democracy around the world, with a particular focus on representation, media, governance and crisis.

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Guy-Francis Vella

Guy did his bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History at the University of NSW before going to work in the communications and finance industry in Australia and Asia. He subsequently completed a Masters in Business Information Technology at UTS and the a Masters in International Studies at the University of Sydney.

Guy is now doing a Masters of Philosophy in the School of Government and International Relations. His research is focusing on the European Union, democratic theory, institutionalism, and  the role of cultural identity in the EU’s so-called “democratic deficit”.

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