Mahmood Sariolghalam earned his MA and PhD in international relations at the University of Southern California, and he pursued a post-doctorate at the Ohio State University. He has taught in a number of countries over nearly three decades, including in Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. He specializes in the political economy of development, U.S.-Iranian relations, and Iranian foreign policy and political culture. His current research focuses on the political psychology of authoritarianism and conceptual roots of Iranian foreign policy.