Amineh studied political science and international relations at the University of Amsterdam, where he received his Ph.D. in 1998.

Amineh's area studies focus on Central and East Asia/China, the European Union, and the Middle East. His current research focuses on three main areas: (1) the (geo)political economy of energy security, with a focus on the European Union and China, (2) China's foreign relations, with a focus on the (geo)political economy of the Belt and Road Initiative. (3) state, society, and international relations in Central Eurasia and the Middle East, and (4) Islam and modernity, including the origins, development, and domestic/global implications of politicized Islam.

• Amineh, M. P. (Ed.) (2023). The China-led Belt and Road Initiative and Its Reflections: The Crisis of Hegemony and Changing Global Orders. (Routledge Series on the Belt and Road Initiative). Routledge
• Amineh, M.P. (Guest Editor and contributor): “Energy and Environment: The European Union and China”, Special Issues: African and Asian Studies, Studies, volume 17: 1-204, 2018.
• Amineh, M.P.& Yang Guang (Eds. 2017). Geopolitical Economy of Energy and Environment: China and the European Union. (International Comparative Social Studies; Vol. 36). Boston-Leiden: Brill.
• Amineh, M.P. Yang Guang (Authors and Eds. 2104). Transnationalization of Chinese National Oil Companies and the European Union Energy Security’. Perspective on Global Development and Technology. The 13th Special Issue, No. 5 & 6, pp. 481-831. 
• M. P. Amineh & Yang Guang, Secure Oil and Alternative Energy, the Geopolitics of Energy Paths of China and the European Union, (Editor and Contributor), (Leiden, Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2012).
• M. P. Amineh. State, Society and International Relations in Asia, Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press, (Editor and Contributor), (Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press, 2010)
• M. P. Amineh & Yang Guang , The Globalization of Energy, the European Union and China, (Editors and Contributors), (Leiden, Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2010).
• M. P. Amineh, The Greater Middle East in Global Politics: Social Science Perspective on the Changing Geography of the World Politics (Editor and Contributor), (Leiden, Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2007).
• Mehdi Parvizi Amineh (Guest Editor and contributors, 2007) “The Greater Middle East in Global Politics: Social Sciences Perspectives on the Changing Geography of the World Politics, special issue of the Journal Perspectives on Global Development and Technology, for vol. 6-, no. 1-3.
• M. P. Amineh & Henk Houweling, Central Eurasia in Global Politics: Conflict, Security and Development, (with Henk Houweling) (editors and contributors) (Leiden, Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2005). 'Second Edition'
  M. P. Amineh, Globalization, Geopolitics and Energy Security in Central Eurasia and the Caspian Region, (The Hague: Clingendael International Energy Program, 2003).
• M. P. Amineh & H. Houweling (Guest Editors and Contributors, 2003). Central Eurasia in Global Politics: Conflict, Security and Development. Perspectives on Global Development and Technology. Special Issue, No. 3 & 5, pp. 315-657.
  M. P. Amineh, Towards the Control of Oil Resources in the Caspian Region, (New York: St. Martin's Press Inc., 1999; reprint edition: 2000).
• M. P. Amineh. The Global Capitalist Expansion and Iran: (1500-1980): A Study of Iranian Political Economy, (Hamburg-London: Lit-Verlag, 1999).

New Joint Research Programme

Geopolitical economy of the Belt and Road Initiative and its Reflections

A new joint research programme coordinated by Mehdi Amineh (University of Amsterdam and Program Director of EPA-IIAS), Willem Vogelsang (Deputy Director of IIAS), and Zhang Yuyan (General Director of IWEP-CASS) between the Institute of World Economy and Politics of the Chinese Academy of the Social Sciences (http://en.iwep.org.cn/) and the Energy Programme Asia (https://www.iias.asia/programmes/energy-programme-asia) of the International Institute of Asian Studies, Leiden, The Netherlands.

The joint research programme analyses the origin, processes, and impact of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), focusing on the international and transnational activities of and responses to Chinese corporations in selected countries in Asia, Africa, and the European Union. We also examine the emergence, policies, and geopolitical impact of the related multilateral institutions set up by China, the regional and global reception of such multilateral institutions, their relationship to the activities and policies of Chinese corporations, and how these institutions could alter the existing regional and global order.

The current research programme is the third joint research project of the Institute of World Economy and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (IWEP-CASS) and the Energy Programme Asia of the International Institute for Asian Studies (EPA-IIAS).

Objectives

The main objective of the research programme is to analyse China’s increasing involvement with governments, local institutions, and local stakeholders in the energy and non-energy sectors in a selection of cases in Asia, Africa, and the European Union within the context of the Belt and Road Initiative, and the response in these countries to Chinese involvement. The countries selected for case studies include Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and the Western Balkan states.

The second objective is to examine the emergence, policies, and geopolitical impact of the multilateral institutions set up by China, namely the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. We are interested in studying the regional and global impact and reception of such multilateral institutions, their relationship to the activities and policies of Chinese companies, and how these institutions could alter frameworks of global governance and the existing regional and global order.

We aim to examine the activities and the local and geopolitical economic responses of Chinese companies and multilateral institutions based on a three-level framework:

The first level examines patterns of interaction and the mechanisms of Chinese corporations and their involvement with national industries, their relationship to foreign investment projects, and the extent to which they are embedded in the local economy of the selected receiving countries.

The second, and domestic level examines the problems that may arise in the receiving countries as a result of Chinese involvement (i.e., from trade, investment, and finance). The aim is to examine, among others, domestic socio-economic, urban, and environmental challenges. At the national level, these may result from loans and export credit strategies that affect the political constellation in the receiving country, but the problems may also refer to urban development, social stratification, employment, ethnic tensions, the search for the cultural and national roots in the receiving country, the direct relationship between members of the receiving society and foreign (Chinese) workers and specialists, and specific cooperation projects between China and Europe and their related risks and challenges.

The third, and global level has two interconnected focusses. The first examines the cooperation between Chinese National Oil Companies (NOCs) and International Oil Companies (IOCs), such as Shell and British Petroleum, through the construction of regional and transcontinental infrastructure projects, such as railways, highways, pipelines, and as stakeholders and owners of domestic energy industry. The second focus aims to examine the emergence, policies and geopolitical impact of multilateral institutions set up by China. These include (i) the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and (ii) the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The interest here lies at their regional and global impact and the reception of such multilateral institutions, their relationship to the activities and policies of Chinese companies, and how these institutions could alter the existing regional and global order.

Following the main objectives of this joint research programme, the central question is: How do Chinese energy and non-energy companies entering into relations with national and local institutions, stakeholders and societies, within the Belt and Road Initiative, affect those institutions, stakeholders and societies, and how do Chinese companies and institutions respond to the demands, challenges and problems raised by the receiving countries and their population? Answering this central question is broken down into three lines of investigation with associated sub-questions.

1) Descriptive and classificatory. Which patterns of involvement by Chinese companies in local institutions in receiving countries can be distinguished? How have they evolved over time as trade, investment, and finance relations have intensified? To what extent are these companies embedded in and supported by a larger Chinese political and economic framework that differs from the existing Western ones? What are the local responses to Chinese involvement? How is local society affected by Chinese investments?

2) Descriptive and analytical. What have been the main actors in Chinese trade, investment, and finance, both in China and overseas? What have been the driving forces in their decision-making processes? How responsive have they been to (changes in) local political conditions and international markets? What are the mechanisms of interaction and problem-solving?

3) Analytical and conclusive. What differences in company behaviour do the governments, media, businesses and communities in resource-rich countries perceive between Chinese and Western (European and/or American) companies? What factors, both internal and external to Chinese companies, are responsible for such differences, insofar as these perceived differences have a factual basis? What has been the influence of international standards of Corporate Social Responsibility?

Aims of the joint Research Programme

Program Leaders & Core Research Team

This interdisciplinary research programme is managed by Mehdi Amineh (University of Amsterdam and Program Director of EPA-IIAS), Willem Vogelsang (Deputy Director of IIAS), and Zhang Yuyan (General Director of IWEP-CASS). Over seventy internationally-renowned scholars from Asia, Europe, and North America are being brought together for this programme, organised around a core research team of twelve Dutch and Chinese scholars and six institutional partners.

The involved researchers include: Mehdi Amineh (IIAS/UvA), , Zhang Yuyan   (IWEP-CASS), Willem Vogelsang (IIAS), Ren Lin (IWEP-CASS), Xu Tian (IWEP-CASS), Xiujun Xu (IWEP-CASS), Jeroen van Wijk (University of Maastricht),  Song Jin (IWEP-CASS), Weijiang Feng (IWEP-CASS), Allard Wagemaker (Netherlands Defence Academy), Yongzhong Wang (IWEP-CASS), and Laszlo Maracz (University of Amsterdam).

The programme brings together the fields of political science, political economy, area studies, energy studies, economics, and international relations. As a team, these experts cover all aspects of the study. The core of the Chinese research team consists of scholars from IWEP-CASS, namely Zhang Yuyan, Ren Lin, Xu Xiujun, Wang Yongzhong, Tian Xu, Song Jin, and Feng Weijiang. The core of the Dutch research team consists of Mehdi Amineh, Willem Vogelsang, Laszlo Maracz (University of Amsterdam), Allard Wagemaker (Netherlands Defence Academy), and Jeroen van Wijk (Maastricht University).

Aims of the Research and Working Plan

Research and discussion between Dutch and Chinese scholars of the social sciences will produce new insights for analysing processes of increasing interaction between governments, energy and non-energy sectors/companies, and other stakeholders in Asia, Africa, and the European Union. By strengthening links between research institutions in China and the Netherlands, this research will also contribute to scientific capacity-building. Despite increasing global interconnectedness, epistemic networks are still rare and underutilised.

The research programme consists of three parts: (i) exchange of scholars between the Netherlands and China, (ii) organising international workshops, conferences, and lecture series, and (iii) the publication of the individual research projects in both a book volume and a special edition of the peer-reviewed journals.

International Workshop and Research-oriented meetings

The first conference (research-oriented meeting) was held on the 24th of November 2017. It took place at the Institute of World Economics and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, China.

The second conference (research-oriented meeting) took place within the context of the 11^th International Convention of Asia Scholars in Leiden. It was organised on Friday 19 July 2019 by Mehdi Amineh and Willem Vogelsang, and was titled Geopolitical Economy of the Belt and Road Initiative and its Reflections. A team of twelve involved researchers presented papers based on two themes: the impact of the BRI in selected countries and the impact of the BRI and China’s multilateral institutions on global governance.

In this meeting, the following members of the research team participated: Mehdi Amineh (University of Amsterdam), Willem Vogelsang (International Institute for Asian Studies), Xu Xiujun (IWEP-CASS), Tian Xu (IWEP-CASS), Wang Yongzhong (IWEP-CASS), Feng Weijiang (IWEP-CASS), Song Jin (IWEP-CASS), Jeroen van Wijk (Maastricht University), Laszlo Maracz (University of Amsterdam), Allard Wagemaker (Netherlands Defence Academy), Melanie van Driel (Utrecht University), Sarah Poss (IIAS), and Mohammadbagher Forough (Leiden University).

The next research-oriented meeting is being organised in the third week of January 2020. This meeting will take place in Beijing, China at the IWEP-Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and will be held within the context of presenting the final drafts of the research papers.

Past Joint Research Programmes with China

First Joint Research Programme

From 2007-2011, EPA-IIAS and the Institute of West Asian and African Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (IWAAS-CASS) co-managed their first joint research project Domestic and Geopolitical Challenges to Energy Security of China and the European Union, in collaboration with four research institutes of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and four universities in the Netherlands. The objectives of this comparative research project were to analyze (a) the geopolitical and (b) domestic aspects of energy security challenges for the European Union (EU) and China and their impact on energy security policy strategies. The analysis of geopolitical aspects involved research on the effects of competition for access to oil and gas resources among the main global consumer countries and its implications for the security of energy supplies of the EU and China.  The domestic aspects involved analyses of domestic energy demand and supply, policies to increase energy efficiency, and estimating the prospects for the exploitation of renewable energy resources. The results of the first research programme were published in the following publications:

M. P. Amineh & Yang Guang, The Globalization of Energy, the European Union and China, (Editor and Contributor), International Comparative Social Sciences (ICSS)-Book-Series, Vol. 21 (Leiden, Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2010).

M. P. Amineh & Yang Guang, Secure Oil and Alternative Energy, the Geopolitics of Energy Paths of China and the European Union, (Editor and Contributor), International Comparative Social Sciences (ICSS)-Book-Series, Vol. 27 (Leiden, Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2012).

Second Joint Research Programme

From 2013-2017, the second joint research programme was co-managed between the Institute of and African Studies IWAAS-CASS - Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Energy Programme Asia - IIAS, and the Royal Netherlands Academy for Arts and Sciences (KNAW). This joint comparative research project of the Energy Programme Asia (EPA) analysed China’s increasing involvement with governments, local institutions and local stakeholders in the energy sectors of a number of resource-rich countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America (notably Sudan, Ghana, Saudi-Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, and Brazil). The project seeked to determine patterns of interaction between national institutions and Chinese companies, their relationships to foreign investment projects, and the extent to which they are embedded in the local economies. China’s huge demand and novel, professedly non-political, approach to investment (including tied aid, loans, and trading credits) sets it apart from European international practices. The effects of investments in these resource-rich economies and societies, many of which are managed by China’s state-owned oil companies, require further analysis of transactions, flows of capital, employment and income-generation, etc. Our hypothesis assumed a growing symbiosis between these enterprises and local institutions on the one hand, and Chinese company and government behaviour on the other, that differs significantly from country to country because of differences in institutional context, and place- and time-specific economic opportunities. Our analysis of these investments and running operations may provide important general insights into the local effects of bilateral and global energy cooperation, and the learning curves of international and local oil companies. The results of the second research programme were published in the following publications:

Amineh, M.P. Yang Guang (Authors and editors. 2014). Transnationalization of Chinese National Oil Companies and the European Union Energy Security’. Perspectives on Global Development and Technology. The 13th Special Issue, No. 5 & 6, pp. 481-831.

Amineh, M.P. & Yang Guang (Editor and contributors. 2017). Geopolitical Economy of Energy and Environment: China and the European Union. International Comparative Social Studies; Vol. 36. Boston-Leiden: Brill.

Amineh, M.P., (Guest Editor and contributors. 2018) “Energy and Environment in China and the European Union”, Special Issue: African and Asian Studies, volume 17: 1-204.

Overview of research activities and projects since 1998

Amineh's research is generally focused on comparative geo-political economics and comparative political studies of Central and East Asia (with focus on China), the Middle East, and the European Union (with a specific focus on energy research in the EU case).

Since 1998, Amineh’s research has developed in four phases:

1. Between 1998 and 2005

In the context of several research projects, the main focus was the study of the post-Cold War geo-political economy, international relations, and the states and societies of the former Soviet republics of Central Eurasia, in particular the study of the geopolitical economy of conflict and cooperation between major state-powers, as well as competition among international oil companies for the access and control of oil and gas resources in the Central Eurasian region.

The results of the research were published in four peer-reviewed books (of which two are monographs), and 13 peer-review articles. The following research institutes were involved in these activities: the Clingendael International Energy Program (CIEP), the Clingendael Institute of International Relations, the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) of Leiden University, the Middle East Technical University of Ankara, Turkey, the Central Asian Studies Department of the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London, UK, the Institute of Eurasian and Russian Studies of Carleton University, Canada, the Institute of Slavic, East Europe, and Eurasian Studies of Berkeley, University of California, USA, the University of Birmingham, UK, the World Bank Office in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the Institute of Asia Pacific Studies of Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan, the Department of Political Science of the University of Amsterdam, and the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague.

2. Between 2005 and 2007

In 2005, Amineh started a new research program called the Greater Middle East in Global Politics: Social Science Perspective on the Changing Geography of World Politics. The main aim of this research was to study factors (both external as well as domestic and regional) that might explain: (1) the persistence of authoritarian regimes, and (2) the failure and/or fragmentation of nation-state-building, development, and democratic transitions, which cause the rise and activities of powerful Islamic radical movements with their transnational networks and participants. These developments caused permanent chronic developmental crises and wars between and within both states and the inter- connected societies of the Greater Middle East, including Central Eurasia.

For this project, the following centers and universities were involved: the Department of Politics and International Relations of the Open University, UK, The Institute of Eurasian and Russian Studies of Carleton University, Canada, the Institute of Political Science and IR of the University of Algiers, Algeria, The Jerusalem Van Leer Institute, Israel, the Clingendael International Energy Program of the Clingendael Institute of International Relations, the Department of Political Science of the University of Amsterdam, the South Asia Studies Centre of the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur, India, the Center for International and Regional Studies of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, Qatar, The Marshall Centre in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, the Mills College of Oakland, USA, the International Studies Program of the University of Regina, Canada, the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London, UK, the Department of Economics of the University of Adelaide, Australia, the Institute of History of Academic and Social Sciences in Uzbekistan, and the School of Management Euromed in Marseilles, France. The results of the research were published in a peer-reviewed books (of which two are monographs), and 16 peer-review articles.

3. From 2007 until September 2011

In 2006, Amineh set up a research program entitled Energy Programme Asia (EPA) at the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) of Leiden University. The objectives of EPA-IIAS  

were twofold; it aimed to study (1) the geopolitical economy of energy supply security and (2) energy efficiency, alternative energy resources, and sustainable development for China and the European Union.

In the context of EPA, between 2007 and 2011, Amineh designed and managed a research program titled the "Domestic and Geopolitical Challenges to Energy Security for China and the EU." This joint research program was a collaboration between the Energy Program Asia and the  Institute of Asian and African Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) with 13 scholars and eight European, Canadian, Dutch, and Chinese research centers and universities. The research program was provided grants by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Social Sciences (KNAW), CASS, and IIAS. The results of this program were published in two edited peer-reviewed volumes and 26 research papers (2010, 2012).

4. The fourth phase: 2013 to 2017

Amineh’s current project is a joint research program titled the “Transnationalization of China’s Oil Industry: Company strategies, embedded projects, and relations with institutions and stakeholders in resource-rich countries." This joint comparative research project analyses China’s increasing involvement with governments, local institutions, and local stakeholders in the energy sectors of a number of resource-rich countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America (notably Sudan, Ghana, Saudi-Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, and Brazil).

The project seeks to determine patterns of interaction between China’s national institutions and companies, their relationship with foreign investment projects, and the extent to which they are embedded in the local economies of their host countries. China’s huge demand for resources and its novel, professedly non-political approach to investment (including tied aid, loans, and trading credits) sets it apart from European international practices. The effects of trade and investments in resource-rich economies and societies, many of which are managed by China’s state-owned oil companies, require further analysis of transactions, flows of capital, employment, income-generation and other important variables. The main hypothesis is that there exists a growing symbiosis between enterprises, local institutions, and China’s company and government behavior, differing significantly from country to country. The main reason for this is the differing institutional context, and place and time-specific economic opportunities for investment and involvement. Analysis of these investments and running operations can provide important insights into the local effects of bilateral and global energy cooperation, and the learning curves of international and local oil companies.

The joint research program is a result of cooperation between the Institute of West Asian and African Studies IWAAS-CASS of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Energy Program Asia of IIAS. The joint research program is granted by the Royal Netherlands Academy for Arts and Sciences (KNAW), the Chinese Academy of Social Science (CASS), and IIAS of Leiden University. The core team entails 12 principal researchers, who will present individual studies on various aspects surrounding different countries as case studies. The interdisciplinary research project is managed by Amineh (the Energy Program Asia-IIAS/UvA) and Prof. Yang Guang (Institute of West Asian and African Studies - CASS) in cooperation with the following Chinese/CASS and Dutch research centers and universities: the Institute of Industrial Economy-CASS (IIE), the Institute of Latin American Studies-CASS (ILAS), the Institute of Russian, East European & Central Asian Studies-CASS (IREECAS), the Center for Latin American Studies/CEDLA, the Department of Politics and Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology of the University of Amsterdam, the Institute for Environmental Studies of Free University Amsterdam (VU), and the International Institute for Asian Studies of Leiden University.

The results of the first part of the research were published in 2014 as the following:

Amineh, M.P. Yang Guang (Authors and Eds. 2104). Transnationalization of Chinese National

Oil Companies and the European Union Energy Security’. Perspectives on Global Development and Technology. The 13th Special Issue, No. 5 & 6, pp. 481-831.

The results of the second part of the research were published respectively in 2017 and 2018 in the following publications:

Amineh, M.P. & Yang Guang (Editor and contributors, 2017). Geopolitical Economy of Energy and Environment: China and the European Union. (International Comparative Social Studies; Vol. 36). Boston-Leiden: Brill.

Amineh, M.P., (Guest Editor and contributors) “Energy and Environment in China and the European Union”, Special Issues: African and Asian, Studies, volume 17: 1-204, 2018.

Amineh has been involved in teaching activities since 2000. His current teaching areas include:

1. Energy and Geopolitical Economy in Eurasia.
2. Political Economy of Energy (Master Research Project)
3. Security and Geopolitics in the Middle East and Central Eurasia
4. Globalization and Islam - Hoorcollege
5. Mater-Research-Project - International Political Economy
6. Introduction to International Relations

PhD Supervision

M.M.A. Alshahman, Religion and state: The relationships between the Shia ulama and the state in Iraq 1921–2015Award date 6 October 2021. Supervisors M.P. Amineh and Prof dr. J.N. Tillie

E.P. Rakel, The Iranian political elite, state and society relations, and foreign relations since the Islamic revolution, Award date: 16 May 2008. Supervisors M.P. Amineh and Prof dr. Gerd Junne