The most recent on top

Farhang Jahanpour, January 7, 2012 As US and Iran confront each other, where is the diplomacy?

Farhang Jahanpour, August 3, 2011 Iran can’t reform itself – the power struggle bewtween Ahmadinejad and Khamenei

Farhang Jahanpour, May 17, 2011 Is Iran next? The Supreme Leader versus Ahmadinejad

Farhang Jahanpour, March 4, 2011 The revolutions in the Arab world: The need for long-term thinking and humility

Farhang Jahanpour, December 15, 2010
The Wikileak files: The banality of politics

Farhang Jahanpour, November 18, 2010 This is what ought to be the U.S.’s interests in the Middle East!

Farhang Jahanpour – Video on Vimeo, October 6, 2010 Towards a solution in the Middle East

Farhang Jahanpour and Susanne Sklar, July 28, 2010 Dialogue on nuclear weapons and culture of peace by TFF Associate and a TFF friend

Farhang Jahanpour, July 28, 2010 Iran, Turkey and Israel – New Global Realities

Farhang Jahanpour, June 11, 2010 The new sanctions on Iran: Superpower domination of the UN Security Council heralds a sad day for the world

Farhang Jahanpour, June 11, 2010 Iran’s nuclear deal: A step forward A comprehensive backgrounder to Iran’s policies and the belligerent response from the United States (pdf)

Farhang Jahanpour, February 18, 2010 Iran: What happened? Where now? Article on OpenDemocracy setting the record right concerning the green movement.

Farhang Jahanpour, February 10, 2010 How to end the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan, promoting development and human rights: A regional perspective

Farhang Jahanpour, June 21, 2009 Iran’s Supreme Leader silences the opposition

Farhang Jahanpour at DemocracyNow, June 18, 2009 Iran’s stolen elections, and what comes next

Farhang Jahanpour, June 3, 2009 How to end the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan Reminds us about the contemporary history of these countries and about the West’s involvement back in time – which is vitally important for understanding today’s situation. And end with a series of constructive proposals as to what can be done, rather much in contrast to what President Obama seems to try to do. A must read if you want the larger picture.

Farhang Jahanpour, May 8, 2009 What future for nuclear weapons?

Farhang Jahanpour, YouTube, May 7, 2009 The necessity of global nuclear disarmament

Farhang Jahanpour, September 11, 2008 9/11 Conspiracy theories – and what we must do

Farhang Jahanpour, June 10, 2008 The Elusiveness of Trust: The experience of Security Council and Iran The time has come to start a serious dialogue with Iran to resolve the outstanding issues. The policy of demonisation of Iran and sanctions is pushing Iran into the arms of Russia and China. Greater pressure on Iran will only force the people to back the hardliners, while Iran has one of the youngest and most pro-Western societies in the Middle East. Let us start talking and weakening the stranglehold of the hardliners on the Iranian population. Instead of contemplating a Third World War, let us lay the foundations of a lasting peace.

Farhang Jahanpour, Journal of Globalisation for the Common Good, November 1, 2007 Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Sufis: From Puritanism to Transcendentalism At a time when political relations between Iran and the United States are so tense and the two nations are viewing each other with hostility and suspicion, it is important to remember that the cultural and literary relations between them have not always been so acrimonious.

Farhang Jahanpour, September 30, 2007 Ahmadinezhad in New York Imagine that some Western president had been treated this way. President Bollinger of Columbia Univeristy ought to be fired also because he was the one who relied on media deception and demonization. This is not the time to be irresponsible and promote more wars in the Middle East!

Farhang Jahanpour, 31. maj 2007 Islam og menneskerettighederne Hvilke (vrang)forestillinger har Vesten og Islam af hinanden? Hvad siger Koranen egentlig om menneskets rettigheder i samfundet? Hvad kan der gøres for at bedre forståelsen – når vi nu véd fra historien at de to kan leve side om side og ikke behøve at støde sammen?

Farhang Jahanpour, 30. maj 2007 Irans nukleare program og den regionale sikkerhed Hvad siger Ikkespredningsaftalen og hvordan er den blevet krænket og af hvem? Hvordan bør man ikke behandle Iran og hvilke er de mulige løsninger. En autoritativ analyse, der skærer igennem propagandaen og spindoktoriet og helt konstruktivt anviser løsninger på konflikten med Iran.

Farhang Jahanpour, May 9, 2007
Iran’s nuclear programme and regional security
What does the NPT say, how has it been violated, how should Iran not be treated and what are the possible solutions?
An authoritative analysis that cuts through all the propaganda and biased medialized views

April 27, 2007 From Yeltsin’s Christian funeral to the war on terror Starting out with the interesting details of that funeral and the upsurge in religious sentiments worldwide, Jahanpour focuses on the general relationship between politics and religion in different culture, reminds us of Nietzsche, continues to CIA’s role in provoking the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and ends with what we can learn from it all concerning the – failed – war on terror today.

April 12, 20007 Islam and human rights A most learned and concise analysis of the perceptions of human rights in Islam and Christianity, their difference and similarities and, consequently, their contributions to a better world.

March 10, 2007 Fundamentalism versus liberalism The biggest challenge that mankind faces today is to prevent the views of the ‘men of zeal’ to predominate. What the world is facing is not a clash of civilisations, but a clash between a liberal and pluralistic view of the world, and one based on religious and political dogmatism and fundamentalism.

March 10, 2007 Voices of aggression: Exploring Israeli-Iran rhetoric What did president Ahmadinejad really say? Did he deny the Holocaust? What is said on the Israeli side? – that we hear much less about in the Western media. Dr. Jahanpour places the two opponents’ rhetoric in a larger domestic and international, even historic, context and reminds us of the remarkable Jewish-Persian co-existence and tolerance over centuries.

March 10, 2007 Western encounters with Persian Sufi literature A 10-year old article with an important message for the present Western conflict with Iran: One of the major contributions of Sufism to inter-religious dialogue, which has not been much commented upon, has been to serve as a bridge between Islam and other religions. On the one hand, it has softened the attitude of the followers of other religions towards mystical Islam and, on the other hand, it has made the Muslims much more open and receptive towards other religions.

Farhang Jahanpour, February 21, 2007 Bush’s missed opportunity U.S. foreign policy has gone totally beserk.The Neoconservatives that pushed America towards perhaps the worst disaster in her history, namely the illegal war in Iraq, are likely to push her towards an even more disastrous decision if they can manufacture an American invasion of Iran. The first time many Americans were fooled by their false intelligence and extensive propaganda…

December 2, 2006 Lessons of Suez and Iraq November marked the 50th anniversary of the Suez crisis, when Britain, France and Israel decided to attack Egypt and unseat Gamal Abdel-Nasser. Dr. Jahanpour analyses the remarkable similarities with the Iraq occupation and predicts much worse long-term consequences.

Farhang Jahanpour, August 16, 2006 Iran’s nuclear threat. Exploring the politics A thorough background to the present crisis, published by TFF’s partner, the Oxford Research Group, ORG. Farhang Jahanpour explores the rhetoric of aggression developing between Iran and the USA and Israel, and asks if war is really inevitable? Published in June but even more relevant now with the Lebanon War as a possible prelude to the bombing of Iran. Remember to return to TFF when you’ve read it and see other works by this eminent TFF Associate!

Farhang Jahanpour, August 16, 2006 Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi in danger of arrest Ebadi’s human rights center has been declared illegal by the Iranian government. After having written an article on the unfair treatment of women in Iran (Iran Awakening?), I received an email message from a supporter of the Iranian regime, arguing that at a time when Iran is under serious threat of attack and invasion it is untimely to raise issues about human rights and freedom in Iran. Indeed, the reverse is the case. The persecution of an internationally respected Nobel Prize laureate and human rights lawyer is a clear example of the Iranian regime shooting itself in the foot.

Farhang Jahanpour, June 28, 2006 Iran Awakening? Review of Shirin Ebadi’s memoirs with the same title. The author places it in the larger context of the Iranian women’s situation and movement and sees it in the perspective the country’s vibrant cultural life. Says Jahanpour, "In Iran, books, plays, films and poems have had an impact on society that goes beyond anything one is accustomed to in the West." Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4, September 18-22.

PressInfo 240, May 10, 2006 Time for substantive Iran-US talks A most insightful and fair analysis of the background to the US-Iran crisis and to President Ahmadinezhad’s letter as well as a convincing argument for a negotiated solution. Professor Jahanpour is a British national of Iranian origin educated in languages and with a PhD in oriental studies and has been BBC Editor for the Middle East and North Africa for 18 years. We are proud to present this most eminent scholar as new TFF Associate. See more about him and read his other articles here.

The political repercussions of the cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (2006)

Iraqi elections must go ahead as scheduled: The alternative is much worse (2005)

The UN should try to end Iraq’s occupation (2004)

Shirin Ebadi, the winner of the Nobel Peace prize (2003)

Militarism a greater threat than terrorism (2003)

Related Posts

It’s a matter of principles, courage, vision and pulling together – while the militarist world is falling apart… Peter Langille October 3, 2026 “Here, then, is the problem which we present to you, stark and dreadful and inescapable: Shall we put an end to the human race; or shall mankind renounce war?”The Bertrand Russell—Albert Einstein Manifesto, July 9, 1955 ⁕ The forecast for what’s ahead is worrisome. The sharp rise in armed conflicts over the past three years is adding to what was already the highest level in over seventy years. Genocides, which should be prevented are supported. A shared climate emergency that jeopardises survival is ignored. Diverse polls now suggest that people are war-weary, worried and interested in a more effective United Nations. And, there are viable policy options for a more secure world! Yet governments are doubling-down, betting on more war and investing heavily. If current trends persist,...
Johan Galtung 1930-2024October 2015 Published here on October 3, 2026 Let us focus on Civilization for conflict analysis and remedies. Major forms of disorder use violence; war is state organized violence. The most belligerent states are the United States of America and Israel, both with civilization roots. National Evangelism, the US Protestant Christian civilization– more national than evangelical–justifies US warfare as exceptionalism of a people chosen by God, with a manifest destiny to run the world. Orthodox Judaism justifies Israeli warfare to conquer and expand from Nile to Euphrates as a religious right and duty to the Eternal One. The third most belligerent country, the UK, no longer believes it is God-chosen but chosen by the USA; not quite the same but something. But the root cause of global disorder lies in the Occident–with Islam–seeing itself as the single, universal civilization valid for all at all times, all others being...
How Oxford University Press allowed a personality‑driven narrative to masquerade as scholarship. Jan Oberg, dr hc, TFF director This article has also been published on TFF Substack where more readers react and withdraw their interviews from the project. A Special Issue in a scholarly journal is not an ordinary publication. It is a collective, curated […]

Recent Articles

Tony Robinson October 4, 2026 Violence is easy to recognise when someone is being beaten, shot or killed. It becomes more difficult when nobody is holding a weapon. Poverty, discrimination, exploitation and repression can restrict a human life just as effectively, although they do so in very different ways and with very different consequences. Simply adding more categories to an ever-growing list of forms of violence does not really solve the problem. The more interesting question is what all these different situations have in common and why it makes sense to describe them using the same word. Human beings do not simply react to what happens around them. They remember the past, imagine things that do not yet exist, make plans and undertake projects. Workers organise because they imagine different working conditions; people migrate because they imagine another life somewhere else; social movements emerge because people refuse to accept the...
It’s a matter of principles, courage, vision and pulling together – while the militarist world is falling apart… Peter Langille October 3, 2026 “Here, then, is the problem which we present to you, stark and dreadful and inescapable: Shall we put an end to the human race; or shall mankind renounce war?”The Bertrand Russell—Albert Einstein Manifesto, July 9, 1955 ⁕ The forecast for what’s ahead is worrisome. The sharp rise in armed conflicts over the past three years is adding to what was already the highest level in over seventy years. Genocides, which should be prevented are supported. A shared climate emergency that jeopardises survival is ignored. Diverse polls now suggest that people are war-weary, worried and interested in a more effective United Nations. And, there are viable policy options for a more secure world! Yet governments are doubling-down, betting on more war and investing heavily. If current trends persist,...
Johan Galtung 1930-2024October 2015 Published here on October 3, 2026 Let us focus on Civilization for conflict analysis and remedies. Major forms of disorder use violence; war is state organized violence. The most belligerent states are the United States of America and Israel, both with civilization roots. National Evangelism, the US Protestant Christian civilization– more national than evangelical–justifies US warfare as exceptionalism of a people chosen by God, with a manifest destiny to run the world. Orthodox Judaism justifies Israeli warfare to conquer and expand from Nile to Euphrates as a religious right and duty to the Eternal One. The third most belligerent country, the UK, no longer believes it is God-chosen but chosen by the USA; not quite the same but something. But the root cause of global disorder lies in the Occident–with Islam–seeing itself as the single, universal civilization valid for all at all times, all others being...

TFF on Substack

Discover and subscribe to more peace materials on TFF Substack

Most Popular

Tony Robinson October 4, 2026 Violence is easy to recognise when someone is being beaten, shot or killed. It becomes more difficult when nobody is holding a weapon. Poverty, discrimination, exploitation and repression can restrict a human life just as effectively, although they do so in very different ways and with very different consequences. Simply adding more categories to an ever-growing list of forms of violence does not really solve the problem. The more interesting question is what all these different situations have in common and why it makes sense to describe them using the same word. Human beings do not simply react to what happens around them. They remember the past, imagine things that do not yet exist, make plans and undertake projects. Workers organise because they imagine different working conditions; people migrate because they imagine another life somewhere else; social movements emerge because people refuse to accept the...
It’s a matter of principles, courage, vision and pulling together – while the militarist world is falling apart… Peter Langille October 3, 2026 “Here, then, is the problem which we present to you, stark and dreadful and inescapable: Shall we put an end to the human race; or shall mankind renounce war?”The Bertrand Russell—Albert Einstein Manifesto, July 9, 1955 ⁕ The forecast for what’s ahead is worrisome. The sharp rise in armed conflicts over the past three years is adding to what was already the highest level in over seventy years. Genocides, which should be prevented are supported. A shared climate emergency that jeopardises survival is ignored. Diverse polls now suggest that people are war-weary, worried and interested in a more effective United Nations. And, there are viable policy options for a more secure world! Yet governments are doubling-down, betting on more war and investing heavily. If current trends persist,...
Johan Galtung 1930-2024October 2015 Published here on October 3, 2026 Let us focus on Civilization for conflict analysis and remedies. Major forms of disorder use violence; war is state organized violence. The most belligerent states are the United States of America and Israel, both with civilization roots. National Evangelism, the US Protestant Christian civilization– more national than evangelical–justifies US warfare as exceptionalism of a people chosen by God, with a manifest destiny to run the world. Orthodox Judaism justifies Israeli warfare to conquer and expand from Nile to Euphrates as a religious right and duty to the Eternal One. The third most belligerent country, the UK, no longer believes it is God-chosen but chosen by the USA; not quite the same but something. But the root cause of global disorder lies in the Occident–with Islam–seeing itself as the single, universal civilization valid for all at all times, all others being...
Read More
Living-Peace-Sign-Budapest-copy
Tony Robinson October 4, 2026 Violence is easy to recognise when someone is being beaten, shot or killed. It becomes more difficult when nobody is holding a weapon. Poverty, discrimination, exploitation and repression can restrict a human life just as effectively, although they do so in very different ways and with very different consequences. Simply adding more categories to an ever-growing list of forms of violence does not really solve the problem. The more interesting question is what all these different situations have in common and why it makes sense to describe them using the same word. Human beings do not simply react to what happens around them. They remember the past, imagine things that do not yet exist, make plans and undertake projects. Workers organise because they imagine different working conditions; people migrate because they imagine another life somewhere else; social movements emerge because people refuse to accept the...
b54a1f10-8c65-4f0b-9dd5-4abc0a7d04cc_2659x2659
It’s a matter of principles, courage, vision and pulling together – while the militarist world is falling apart… Peter Langille October 3, 2026 “Here, then, is the problem which we present to you, stark and dreadful and inescapable: Shall we put an end to the human race; or shall mankind renounce war?”The Bertrand Russell—Albert Einstein Manifesto, July 9, 1955 ⁕ The forecast for what’s ahead is worrisome. The sharp rise in armed conflicts over the past three years is adding to what was already the highest level in over seventy years. Genocides, which should be prevented are supported. A shared climate emergency that jeopardises survival is ignored. Diverse polls now suggest that people are war-weary, worried and interested in a more effective United Nations. And, there are viable policy options for a more secure world! Yet governments are doubling-down, betting on more war and investing heavily. If current trends persist,...
010
Johan Galtung 1930-2024October 2015 Published here on October 3, 2026 Let us focus on Civilization for conflict analysis and remedies. Major forms of disorder use violence; war is state organized violence. The most belligerent states are the United States of America and Israel, both with civilization roots. National Evangelism, the US Protestant Christian civilization– more national than evangelical–justifies US warfare as exceptionalism of a people chosen by God, with a manifest destiny to run the world. Orthodox Judaism justifies Israeli warfare to conquer and expand from Nile to Euphrates as a religious right and duty to the Eternal One. The third most belligerent country, the UK, no longer believes it is God-chosen but chosen by the USA; not quite the same but something. But the root cause of global disorder lies in the Occident–with Islam–seeing itself as the single, universal civilization valid for all at all times, all others being...
Screenshot 2026-10-02 011738
Jan ObergPhD, director, The Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research, TFFLund, Sweden October 2, 2026 This is my full original manuscript. The Chinese Academy of Social Science, CASS, makes two publications out if it. 1. China’s Five-year plan emphasized the capabilities of basic research and original innovation. It is regarded as the goal of the future social development, which, as required, should be significantly enhanced. Can you comment on the importance of original innovation in research and academic study? I believe it is easier to define “original innovation” in the natural sciences than in social sciences. The breaking points of what constitutes something new, or innovative, are not quite as sharp in the latter. But in both fields it is about opening up something that was closed, unseen, unexplored before – making manifest what was earlier latent. Innovations come in many forms and shapes – naming something that was not...
arctic-circle-map
The agreement is catastrophic both because of what it says and what it doesn’t mention. It reduces further the major asset of security policies: Freedom of action. Jan Oberg TFF director September 25, 2026 A couple of hours before the agreement was signed on September 22, 2026, I published the following 13 hypotheses about what it would most likely contain on TFF Substack (in English). I was wrong on only the first point. Contrary to what Trump had written on his Truth Social platform, it does not appear to come into force immediately. In fact, it turned out to be worse than even I had anticipated. After these hypotheses now come a number of reflections in light of what the agreement actually contains, and does not contain, as well as the way in which it has generally been presented by major media outlets and by the public-service broadcaster DR. My...
girl-5894831_1280
Below are TFF-related media mentions, comments, videos and social media posts published elsewhere but not on this homepage. We happen to catch and list only a fraction. Regarding video comments and debates, we recommend that you go to the TFF Video Channel on Substack where many of them are reproduced. Jan Oberg is a contributor to China Daily – 52 million daily clicks – and Global Times, CGTN and CCTV (the national television), China Investment, Xinhua News Agency and several others. Articles and videos on these media very often multiply into countless Chinese (and Western media) that re-post them from these main media. Thanks to The China Academy, his analyses, interviews and comments are frequently posted on YouTube channels such as Thinkers Forum and Wave Media. These videos are often re-posted on Bilibili (China’s YouTube), the China Content Center on TikTok, and on the Chinese edition of TikTok, Douyin.com. This means reaching hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide over a year. While there are too many to catch on all these...