Anahita Hosseini Lewis is a research fellow at the ICPR, where she has been working since March 2025. Her expertise spans international law, human rights, and international political sociology.
Anahita holds a BA in Law from the University of Tehran and an MA in Middle Eastern Studies from Lund University in Sweden. She is in the final stages of completing her PhD in International Relations at the University of Sussex, and was the recipient of the Pears Foundation PhD scholarship. Her thesis, entitled ‘The Politics of Hegemonic Ruling in Post-Revolutionary Iran: Rethinking the Discourse and Practice of the Islamic Government’ employs a multidisciplinary approach to explore the complexities of rule and governance in post-revolutionary Iran. Her work aims to reframe conventional understandings of discourse, ideology, and practice in non-Western and authoritarian contexts.
Anahita has extensive experience in the human rights civil society sector, particularly as a senior researcher focusing on the MENA region. Her work has addressed a wide range of issues, including legal framework analysis, transparency, corruption, access to information, digital rights, and women’s and minority rights, amongst other topics. In addition to her research, she has been actively involved in advocacy and campaigning efforts aimed at promoting and protecting human rights.
Anahita has published widely on MENA-related topics in both peer-reviewed journals and media outlets. She also has experience as a doctoral tutor, having taught several International Relations courses at the University of Sussex. In addition, she has collaborated with the Netherlands-based University of Iran Academia, where she contributed to course development.