I am the Head of the Middle East and Central Asia Desk at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam and hold the Chair of Social History of the Middle East and Central Asia at University of Leiden.
Studying theoretical physics and history at the National University, later I acquired my PhD from University of Utrecht.I have served on the editorial board of Iranian Studies, the Journal of Central Asian Survey and the Board of Consulting Editors of International Labour and Working-Class History.

My scholarly interests encompass Social History of the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia, Modernity, Migration, Nationalism, Labour and Subaltern Studies and post-Colonial Historiography

Social History of the Middle East and Central Asia

Head of the Middle East and Central Asia Desk, International Institute of Social History. Chair of Social History of the Middle East and Central Asia, Leiden University