In its third decade, the Ann Lambton Memorial Lectures is a series of annual events jointly organised by BIPS and IMEIS (Durham University). The events are hosted, in person and/or online, by either BIPS or IMEIS on alternate years. The first lecture was given by Professor Lambton herself in the early 1990s and since then the series has been a key event in both IMEIS and BIPS’s calendars featuring eminent scholars and practitioners working on various aspects of the Persianate world.
"A British Diplomatic Perspective on Iran’s Position & Policies in the Middle East Since 7 October 2023"
The 2025 Ann Lambton Memorial Lecture was held by the IMEIS at Durham University School of Government and International Affairs hosting her Former Majesty’s ambassador to Iran, Qatar and Yemen, Mr. Nicholas Hopton. This event was held on 12th November 2025.
Abstract:
Since the Islamic revolution of 1979, Iran has pursued policies and actions that have put it at odds with the United States, other Western countries and its neighbours. Tensions have ebbed and flowed. The 2015 JCPOA agreement, limiting Iran’s nuclear weapon potential in return for a more normal trading relationship with the international community, ended following US withdrawal. Subsequently, Iran also stopped complying with the JCPOA’s terms and increased its interference through proxies in the Middle East and beyond.
Hamas’ terrorist atrocities of 7th October 2023 led to direct conflict with Israel for the first time and the unprecedented US bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites. Following the 12 Day War this June and President Trump‘s 20 point plan and the October ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Iran and the Middle East may be on the cusp of a new phase.
Drawing on a 35 year diplomatic career including time as the UK’s Ambassador in Tehran - Nicholas Hopton unpack what has happened in the last two years, where we are now and what this might mean in the near and longer-term for Iran and the region.
Modern Iran: A global history "from below"
Stephanie Cronin
Elahe Omidyar Mir-Djalali Research Fellow at St Antony's College
Wednesday, 8 March 2023, 3:00pm - 5.00pm
Room 406, Calman Learning Centre
Further details of the lecture can be found at the following link Ann Lambton 2023 Lecture
Abstract
The history of Iran has been dominated by a narrative of top-down elite-driven and state-centred modernization and shaped and constrained by a powerful nationalist methodology. This lecture aims to problematize both these narratives. It begins with a challenge to the argument that "history from below"/ subaltern studies is impossible in the case of Iran owing to a lack of sources. On the contrary, it argues that recent work done in Iran, as well as an increasing methodological sophistication in Middle Eastern Studies more broadly, has opened up exciting new research possibilities. The lecture then moves on to suggest ways in which the deployment of a global perspective might transform our understanding of modern Iran, looking first at the revolution of 1979, then at the theoretical insights derived from integrating into Iranian studies concepts and paradigms developed by significant figures in the wider field of social history, Eric Hobsbawn, E P Thompson and Edward Said. The Lecture ends with the proposal of a global context for the issue which has recently dominated the headlines about Iran, that of veiling and its opponents.
Unequal Treaties and the Question of Sovereignty in Qajar and early Pahlavi Iran
Professor Ali Gheissari
University of San Diego
Wednesday, 6 April 2022, 5:00pm
Register for the event here
This presentation will offer an overview of the Russian and British leverage in Iran during the Qajar and early Pahlavi periods through unequal treaties as one channel of extending their imperial influence and counterbalancing each other’s rival presence. Although Iran was never directly colonized, its sovereignty was frequently compromised by competing foreign interests as reflected in several unequal treaties and concessionary agreements which, in effect, created a semicolonial situation for the country during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The paper will address certain aspects of these points in three interrelated sections. The first section will provide a general discussion on unequal treaties, notably the Golestan Treaty of 1813 and the Turkmenchay Treaty of 1828 between Russia and Iran, and their implications. Subsequently, the Qajar state’s traditional perspective on sovereignty, in terms of the guarded domain, and its ways of maintaining it and Iran’s semicolonial condition in the 19th and the early 20th centuries will be discussed in the second section. However, by building on modern requisites of sovereignty based on the paradigm of nation-state and introducing a set of corresponding legal and administrative reforms that were adopted in late 1920s and early 1930s, the early Pahlavi state set out to remove hitherto capitulatory agreements, a topic that will be addressed in the last section.
"Why History Matters - Reflections on the Origins and Significance of the Iranian Revolution of 1979"
14th March 2018
Dr Michael Axworthy
Director of Centre for Persian and Iranian Studies, University of Exeter
Dr Michael Axworthy has visited Iran many times and served as the Head of Iran Section in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) from 1998-2000. After he left the FCO in 2000 he turned his interest to early and contemporary Iranian history. He published his first book The Sword of Persia, about the Iranian conqueror Nader Shah in July 2006. He has also written a number of articles and made numerous TV and radio appearances discussing Iranian subjects.
His second book appeared in November 2007 as Empire of the Mind: A History of Iran, now translated into Dutch, Czech, Italian, Spanish, German and Finnish. REVOLUTIONARY IRAN, Michael’s latest book, published in 2013, tells the story of Iran since the revolution of the ayatollahs, including a full account of the terrible Iran-Iraq War, one of the most bloody since the Second World War and a conflict which has had a profound impact on Iranian society.
Views from inside: how Iranian travellers of the Qajar period perceived and described their own country
29 March 2017
Professor Birgitt Hoffmann, Iranian Studies, University of Bamberg
The Ann K S Lambton Memorial Lecture is jointly hosted by the Durham University's School of Government & International Affairs and the British Institute of Persian Studies.
The Qajar period (1796-1925) saw a remarkable increase in Persian travelogues describing journeys abroad, pilgrimages and domestic trips. So far scholarly attention has concentrated rather on Iranians touring Europe and beyond in the context of the first diplomatic missions, students’ delegations, official visits of ruling monarchs and private trips of lesser celebrities. Studies mostly focus on the impression Europe made on these travellers and how they expressed their experiences through the writing of travelogues. In contrast this paper will deal with the more neglected travel accounts written by Iranians who for whatever reason roamed their home country and put their impressions into writing. Systematic perusal and evaluation of these texts will not only contribute to a better assessment of local conditions but also to a better understanding of modes of perception and ways of thinking.
/prod01/prodbucket01/media/durham-university/research-/new-research-and-business/Research-and-Business-Partnerships.png)