I am an historian of cultural diplomacy and soft power, specialising in US-Iran relations and the promotion of British norms, values and ideas overseas. My first monograph, adapted from my PhD thesis, examined US and UK soft power in Iran between 1953 and 1960. My book explored American and British motives for engaging with the Iranian people in this way, the types of initiatives US and UK cultural instituions like the United States Information Agency and the British Council pursued, and the extent to which these cultural diplomacy endeavours promoted American and British norms, values and ideas to the Iranian people. 

Stemming from my initial research, I have explored the origins and nature of US sport diplomacy in Iran during the Cold War, as well as analysing the collaborative activities during the 1960s between the UK Foreign Office's Information Research Department and SAVAK, Iran's then secret police and intelligence service. 

My current research builds on my prior work, examining US soft power and public diplomacy at a non-state level. I am currently developing two projects. The first examines how New York City used the 1964-65 World's Fair in Queens to engage with overseas governments and foreign publics. My second project analyses how US museums responded to the end of the Cold War.