A.K. Ramakrishnan is currently the Nelson Mandela Chair Professor at Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala. Earlier, he was Professor and Chairperson of the Centre for West Asian Studies at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He also had undertaken teaching and research assignments at various universities like Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, Cairo University, Egypt, Bucknell University, PA, USA, and Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran, Iran. His publications include US Perceptions of Iran: Approaches and Policies, and co-edited volume Society and Change in the Contemporary Gulf.