Meet Postdoc Atal Ahmadzai

Originally from Afghanistan, Postdoctoral Research Associate Atal Ahmadzai has had
plenty of experience in the area of Global Affairs.

After earning his undergrad in health sciences at Kabul University in Afghanistan, and
his first Masters in Global Public Health from Thailand, Ahmadzai landed a job with the United
Nations as a researcher for the annual Human Development Report. While working there, he
came to know and appreciate the emerging paradigm of Human Security that places individuals
at the center of analysis. It was from this working experience and previous life experiences that
Ahmadzai recognized his passion for global affairs and pursued his graduate studies in this
multidisciplinary field.

Dr. Ahmadzai is currently studying a political theory centered on government systems of
violent non-state actors, or terrorist groups, that presumptively provide services to people in
order to gain legitimacy. One reason he finds global affairs so interesting is that it involves many
different disciplinary perspectives from fields such as political science, sociology, economics,
and anthropology. 

Similar to his work in global affairs, Dr. Ahmadzai enjoys the interdisciplinary nature of
the postdoctoral community. He delights in the dynamic that comes from being involved with
Postdoctoral Affairs and he feels that he has grown in his professional development through
their workshops and events.