Dr. Faramarz Tamanna: A Biography

I was six years old when I entered Aton Herawi School in Herat Province, taking my first step toward a lifelong journey of learning. I vividly recall my excitement and youthful curiosity, which led me to insist on completing my registration form myself. Having already learned the alphabet at home, I carefully read each question multiple times before answering. On that form, I neatly wrote: “Faramarz, son of Abdul Karim Tamanna, born on 25 Dalw/Bahman (Solar Hijri calendar), in Bagh-e-Zaghan alley, Herat, Afghanistan.” Only later did I realize that this date corresponds to 14 February, Valentine’s Day, widely celebrated as a day of love.

At the time of my birth, my father, an intellectual and poet, was in Kabul, having been appointed by the late President Sardar Mohammad Daoud Khan as a member of the Loya Jirga, the traditional grand assembly convened to ratify Afghanistan’s constitution. He returned home ten days later to join my mother, Rahima Amirzada, a woman of remarkable care, compassion, and selflessness. It was my father who named me “Faramarz”; otherwise, I might have been called “Abdul Basir,” a name suggested by my maternal grandfather. I take great pride in bearing a name associated with the heroic characters of the Shahnameh, the great Persian epic by Ferdawsi.

My wife, Dr. Arezou Nooristani, holds a PhD in International Relations. She previously served in the Office of the Spokesperson and the Directorate General of Public Information at Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has taught at the University of Afghanistan. She is a woman of dignity, wisdom, and kindness, whose support has been central to both my personal and professional life. Together, we are blessed with our children, Siawash, Afrasiab, Zhoonia Hariwa, and Hewad Sohrab. Her constant presence, especially her thoughtful guidance in important decisions, has made life’s challenges far more bearable.

 

I completed the elementary and secondary school in Herat and the final years of high school in Mawlana Abdul Rahman Jami School. I took the university entrance exam in 1994 and was admitted to the Faculty of Economics at Herat University. After the Taliban’s invasion of Herat, I transferred to Kabul University. When Taliban took over Kabul, I moved back to my hometown, Herat.

In 1997, I was granted a scholarship from the Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences in Shahid Beheshti University of Tehran. I started a second bachelor’s degree, but this time in Political Science. I received my BA in 2001, and started my graduate studies at the same university in 2003. I received an MA in International Relations in 2006. My thesis was titled: “The United States Strategies to Combat Terrorism: The Case of Post-9/11 Afghanistan.” In graduate school, I had the pleasure to meet some well-known Iranian professors of International Relations, of which I always find myself in debt to Dr. Abdul Ali Ghawam and Dr. Mahmood Sariolghalam. I was a student of Dr. Sariolghalam for almost 10 years and he was always a great role model for me to look up to. Dr. Sariolghalam is undoubtedly one of the greatest experts in International Relations in Asia, best known for his research and studies on the issues of the Third-World developing countries.

 

When I returned to Afghanistan in 2010, I intended to continue my academic life. As a result, I submitted my application for a  PhD to the School of International Studies (SIS) of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in India. I went through several exams and interviews again to enter a PhD program in Security Studies. In 2014, I defended my dissertation on “Security Problem in Afghanistan: A Study of Domestic Factors” using a theoretical approach to Constructivism.

The priceless guidance of Dr. K. Warikoo, my professor and supervisor, certainly opened new doors to knowledge and scientific methods of acquiring it to me. Studying both in Iran and in India provided me with the opportunity to combine two different methodological approaches. My “deductive” understanding of international relations in Iran was merged into my “inductive” reading of that field of knowledge in India, and new pathways in scientific studies were opened to me as a result. Such experiences have provided me with the competence to teach Research Methods and Analysis in International Relations for many years in different universities.

 

 

My first book, U.S. Foreign Policy in Afghanistan, was published in 2008. In 2014, while serving as Director General of the Centre for Strategic Studies at Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I compiled and published Afghanistan’s Foreign Policy: On Regional Cooperation. I subsequently authored three additional books: Political Development in Afghanistan (2019), Afghanistan’s Peace and Security Dilemma (2020), and Afghanistan’s Foreign Policy: Dynamism, Scope, Actions (2021).

In addition, I have published over 33 policy papers and scholarly articles on security, international politics, and foreign policy in national and international journals. One of my articles, “The Conceptual Change of Interactor and the Issue of Security in International Relations,” has been included as a chapter in a graduate-level textbook on conceptual change in International Relations, edited by Dr. Homeira Moshirzadeh and Dr. Nabiollah Ebrahimi.

Over the years, I have participated in more than 30 international academic conferences and have had the honour of delivering keynote addresses at several of them. More recently, a number of my policy papers have been published through the University of Ottawa and Carleton University in Canada: 

Selected Policy Papers

1. Security in the Heartland: Navigating Russia, China, and Central Asia’s Interaction with the Taliban 2.0, Carleton University (and DND), (2025). available at: https://carleton.ca/eetn/2025/security-in-the-heartland-navigating-russia-china-and-central-asias-interaction/
2. Afghanistan at a crossroads: Policy Recommendations for Canada and the International Community, CIPS, University of Ottawa, (2025), Available at: https://www.cepi-cips.ca/afghanistan-at-a-crossroads-policy-recommendations-for-canada-and-the-international-community/

3. Recalibrating Canada’s Trade and Economic Foreign Policy: A Three-Circle Framework in the Era of Tariff Wars, CIPS, University of Ottawa, (2026), Available at: https://www.cips-cepi.ca/recalibrating-canadas-trade-and-economic-foreign-policy-a-three-circle-framework-in-the-era-of-tariff-wars/ 

 

 

Over the past 18 years, I have taught at universities in Afghanistan and Canada, from Herat to Kabul to Ottawa, across both undergraduate and graduate levels. Among these experiences, my first teaching appointment remains the most formative. I began teaching at Herat University in 2008, while concurrently working with the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO). For two years, I travelled weekly from Tehran to Herat to teach at the Faculty of Law and Political Science.

During this period, I taught specialized courses including Research Methodology in Political Science and International Relations, Diplomatic and Consular Law, International Crisis Management, Principles of Foreign Policy and International Politics, International Political Economy, and Political Development and Administrative Reform. Beyond formal instruction, sustained intellectual engagement with students and colleagues created some of the most meaningful experiences of my academic life.

I was particularly inspired by my students’ intellectual curiosity, critical engagement, and commitment to rigorous debate. Their dedication to learning motivated me to undertake the demanding weekly journey of approximately 3,500 kilometers between Tehran and Herat. These interactions not only reinforced my commitment to teaching but also strengthened my own analytical and critical thinking capacities.

Many of my former students have gone on to serve as professors, ministers, members of parliament, senators, ambassadors, and senior government officials. Their contributions to Afghanistan’s development remain a source of deep pride. I continue to encourage them to pursue public service with integrity, critical reflection, and a steadfast commitment to the welfare of all citizens.

 

From my early academic years, I intended to remain engaged in “academic” politics before entering executive roles. However, the political transformations following the events of 11 September 2001 accelerated this trajectory. Like many young Afghan scholars, I was motivated by a strong sense of responsibility to contribute to national reconstruction during a period marked by both profound uncertainty and renewed hope.

In 2002, I joined the Afghan government as Deputy Cultural Attaché at the Embassy of Afghanistan in Tehran, later serving as Third Secretary until 2006. In 2008, I returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was appointed Cultural Expert at the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), where I served for two years. Upon returning to Kabul in 2010, I continued my work at the Ministry, becoming a professor at the Institute of Diplomacy and subsequently serving as Deputy Spokesperson to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2012, I was appointed Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at the Ministry.

Parallel to my governmental responsibilities, I remained actively engaged in academia. In 2012, together with a group of Afghan scholars, we founded the University of Afghanistan in Kabul. Since then and before coming to Canada, I have served as its President and Professor, teaching at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Our vision has been to develop the university, particularly in the fields of diplomacy and international studies into a leading national hub for research and education in International Relations and Foreign Policy, supported by a strong network of distinguished scholars.