Sean S. Heravi

Sean Heravi is an S-CAR alumni and military veteran. He served previously as the student representative to the Advisory Board before he graduated. His MS thesis titled: “Ayatollah Resilience: The Iranian Model for Regime Survival,” focuses on informal networks in Iran and their influence on authoritarian resilience. During his time at S-CAR, he honed an interest in power relations, statebuilding, and religious conflicts after completing several courses on these topics and a yearlong seminar titled: “The Political Economy of Civil Wars.” Last summer, he completed a month long intensive experiential learning course in Yogyakarta, Indonesia that incorporated ethnographic research and an analysis of political Islam at the local universities. He holds a BA in Political Science from Penn State University and has held several internships relative to international security and conflict resolution, including a fellowship at the Center for Complex Operations within the National Defense University. His background is in terrorism and international security with a regional focus on the Middle East and North Africa. Before his academic pursuit, he completed four years of honorable service in the United States Marine Corps as a member of 3rd Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team Company (F.A.S.T. CO.) and was stationed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.