Dr Alvandi is an Associate Professor of International History at the LSE and an expert on Iran’s foreign relations, whose book Nixon, Kissinger, and the Shah: The United States and Iran in the Cold War was selected by the Financial Times as one of the best history books of 2014.
Dr Alvandi succeeds Professor Piers Ludlow, now Deputy Head of Department and Director of Teaching Programmes at the LSE Department of International History.
LSE IDEAS has been the home of Cold War Studies since it was founded as the Cold War Studies Centre (CWSC) in 2004. Continuing the work of the CWSC, the Cold War Studies Project employs LSE's unique potential for the study of international affairs to investigate the creation of the contemporary world through the prism of 20th century international history.
Commenting on his appointment, Dr Alvandi said:
“Now in its second decade, the Cold War Studies Project is the legacy of the groundbreaking research on the global Cold War that the LSE is known for throughout the world. Building on the work of Mick Cox, Arne Westad, Piers Ludlow, and many other colleagues at LSE and our partner institutions, we hope in the years ahead to continue our global approach to the study of the Cold War"
LSE IDEAS Director Michael Cox said:
"IDEAS began life thinking about the legacy of the Cold War and with this new appointment we continue that great tradition"