My name is Azadeh Akbari, and I am Assistant Professor in Digital Transformation at the University of Twente, the Netherlands. I am an EU-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellow (2024-7) for my project Authoritarian Smart Cities.

I am the co-director of the Surveillance Studies Network and the founder and director of the Surveillance in the Majority World Network, which aims to expand the scope of surveillance studies to include non-Western discourses and practices and create a place for exchange, collaboration, and activism against the undemocratic use of surveillance technologies.

I studied sociology (BA) and journalism in Iran and gender research (MSc) at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences. I obtained my PhD in human geography from the University of Heidelberg. I then joined the University of Münster as a postdoctoral research associate in political geography.

I have been a journalist for many years and worked as a communication manager and community outreach specialist at the UNHCR, UNICEF, and the British Council.

I am the co-editor of two upcoming books on Critical ICT4D (Information & Communication Technology for Development) by Routledge with Silvia Masiero, and the International Handbook of Critical Surveillance Studies by Edward Elgar with Murakami Wood, van Brakel, & Bruno.

I am a professional amateur in lindy-hop dance, documentary filmmaking, and cooking. I enjoy writing and reading a lot (obviously!) and combine all my skills and passions in being an associate editor for the journals Surveillance & Society and Information Technology for Development.

For media and consultancy inquiries, please use the contact page. I speak Farsi, English, and German fluently.