Amin TARZI is analyst for Afghanistan and Iraq. He compiles the weekly "Afghanistan Report" and writes the Afghanistan sections for the "RFE/RL Newsline." Tarzi earned his Ph.D. from the Department of Middle East Studies at New York University (NYU), where he wrote a dissertation entitled, "The Judicial State: Evolution and Centralization of the Courts in Afghanistan, 1883-1896." In addition, he received his MA degree from NYU and wrote his thesis on the historical political relations between Iran and Afghanistan, and he received his BA degree in political science and philosophy from Queens College in New York. Prior to joining RFE/RL, Tarzi worked as Senior Research Associate for the Middle East at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies, where he also taught a graduate seminar on Middle East security policies and threat perceptions. His work experience also includes serving as the Political Advisor to the Saudi Arabian Mission at the United Nations and as Researcher/Analyst at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Tarzi has served in the U.S. Armed Forces as a member of the Marine Corps.
Tarzi's areas of research include the history, politics and state-building process in Afghanistan, with special focus on the role of the courts and the application of Islamic archetypes in the centralization process in that country. He also studies the U.S. policy on Iraq and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction -- including the role nuclear weapons have on regime preservation -- in the Middle East. In addition, Tarzi continues to research Iranian security and threat perceptions and its missile and nuclear programs. He currently has several works in the press, including a chapter entitled "Islam and Contitutionalism in Afghanistan" to be published by Harvard Universtiy Press; "Afghanistan at the Crossroads, A Melting Pot or a Melt Down?" to be published by "Geopolitics;" and "Iranian Strategic Environment in Post-War Iraq: Lessons From Afghanistan and the Role of Nuclear Weapons."
Although Tarzi has focused on the Middle East in addition to his Afghan studies and research, Afghanistan has always been close to his heart and held his attention. An American citizen of Afghan origins, he worked hard as a student during the 1980s to call attention to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. When the Taliban came to power and began instituting their draconian policies on the lives of Afghans during the latter half of the 1990s, Tarzi went to the U.S. Congress and lobbied for resolutions against that regime. His decision to join RFE/RL when he did in 2002 came after serious reflections about how -- with his background, skills and knowledge -- he could best contribute to the reconstruction of Afghanistan and broaden the understanding between his adopted country, the United States, and his country of heritage, Afghanistan.
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