Reza Arab

  • I have been politically engaged in opposition to the Islamic Republic since my university years (mid 2000s), when my commitment to democratic change first took shape. My academic training spans (Socio)Linguistics, Social Science, and International Relations, shaping the way I analyse power, language, and society.

    I lead a dual professional life at the intersection of academia and political advocacy. I am a Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at the University of Queensland, where I teach into Language Culture & Technology program (my course topics such as history of pragmatics, language and digital culture), and I work as a political advisor and advocate for a free and democratic Iran.

    Current roles (April 2026)

    Political

    Academic

    • Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Applied Linguistics, University of Queensland
    • Major Convener for English as an International Language, University of Queensland

    I began my academic journey studying English Language and Literature at the University of Mazandaran (2006–2011). During this time, I was an active student organiser, mobilising peers against the theocratic regime and publishing on liberty and democracy. My activism led to repeated detentions and, ultimately, a ban on postgraduate study in Iran. Despite this, I completed my bachelor’s degree under disciplinary pressure.

    I continued my political advocacy in Mashhad while I completed an online Master’s degree in International Relations and Economics at the American Graduate School in Paris. I was subsequently awarded an Erasmus Mundus scholarship (SALAM program) to move to Poland to complete a second MA in Linguistics at the University of Warsaw.

    In 2016, I relocated to Australia to undertake a PhD in Linguistics, focusing on the semantics and pragmatics of Persian. I later continued my research as a resident at the Griffith Social and Cultural Research Centre before joining the University of Queensland.

    Alongside my academic work, I advise and contribute to political initiatives focused on Iran’s democratic transition. I have published in both Persian and English on pathways to a free Iran, including the case for constitutional monarchy as a viable framework for political change.

    I have been a staff writer for Fereydoun magazine and its website—published by the National Union for Democracy in Iran—since its launch in 2022. I joined the Iran Novin Party in early 2023 to lead Strategic Studies, developing plans to weaken the Islamic regime while empowering party members and freedom fighters across Iran.