Ali Riaz

Ali Riaz is a distinguished professor of political science at Illinois State University, a nonresident senior fellow of the Atlantic Council, and president of the American Institute of Bangladesh Studies. Riaz served as a visiting researcher at the Varieties of Democracy Institute (V-Dem) in Sweden (2023) and as a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington D.C. (2013). He was the chair of the Department of Politics and Government (2007- 2017) and held the Thomas E Eimermann Professorship (2018-2020) and University Professor position (2008-2018). Previously, he taught at universities in Bangladesh, England, and South Carolina and worked as a Broadcast Journalist at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in London. His areas of interest include South Asian politics, democratization, violent extremism, and Bangladeshi politics. His recent publications include Pathways for Autocratization: The Tumultuous Journey of Bangladeshi Politics (2024); Trials and Tribulations: Politics, Economy and Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh (2023), More than Meets the Eye (2022), and Religion and Politics in South Asia (2021).