Professor Shahram Akbarzadeh has two decades of research experience on Middle East politics and international relations. He is currently completing a major project on proxy wars, sponsored by Carnegie Corporation New York, which includes the development of an extensive database of flashpoints with multiple variables. He has published on foreign policy making and international relations. Since 2017 he has been running a leadership program for DFAT in Indonesia through which he has developed close links with collaborators in Indonesia.