LISD co-sponsored a lunch seminar, "Iran: Can the Fist Be Unclenched?," with guest speaker Amin Saikal, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at Australian National University on April 24, 2009 at 12:00 p.m. in 012 Bendheim Hall. The session was co-sponsored with Near Eastern Studies.

Saikal specializes in the politics, history, political economy and international relations of the Middle East and Central Asia. He has been a Visiting Fellow at Princeton University, Cambridge University and the Institute of Development Studies (University of Sussex), as well as a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow in International Relations (1983-1988). He is a member of many national and international academic organizations.

He is the author of numerous works on the Middle East, Central Asia, and Russia, including monographs, articles in international journals, and feature articles in national and international newspapers. His most recent books are The Rise and Fall of the Shah 1941-1979 and Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival.

Saikal is a non-resident associate of LISD. He was awarded the Order of Australia as Member of the Order (AM) in January 2006.