Ben Soodavar

Dr Ben Soodavar is a political scientist that focuses on the psychology of political decision-making in war.

He completed his PhD at the Department of War Studies at King's College London. He took up a post at Columbia University in New York during 2018, where he worked on information warfare. Beforehand, he completed his MA in Russian Politics at UCL.

His research broadly looks at the role of identity and domestic politics in foreign policy analysis. Specifically, his research interrogates how the concept of loss is understood and communicated in foreign policy discourse; much of his empirical work has focused on Britain, Russia, Israel and Iran.

He has taught International Relations Theory at King's College London and has recently served as a researcher in the House of Lords - working on foreign policy issues. Since 2022, Ben has published several articles on the war in Ukraine and used his theoretical framework to unpack the reasons behind Russia's decision-making. His research interests also include British and US foreign policy.