Dr Bamo Nouri

Dr Bamo Nouri is a scholar and an independent investigative journalist and writer with interests in American foreign policy and the international and domestic politics of the Middle East. 

In May 2021, Bamo successfully established UWL’s membership with the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) initiative. As the UNAI Academic Lead at UWL, Bamo has led many projects in support of the UNAI principles, including a ‘Global Webinar Series’ entitled ‘The International System of Power’ and the dissemination of UNAI to UWL’s student population.  

In September 2022, Bamo, as a Leading Manchester Scholar, attended the One Young World Summit, joining current and future world leaders, including the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Sir Bob Geldof and Mary Robinson. After the summit, Bamo officially became a One Young World Global Ambassador, focusing-on and dedicated-to finding solutions to the most pressing issues affecting the world’s future, such as climate change, sustainability, conflict and equality.

In 2023, Bamo was nominated by UWL for the Times Higher Education (THE) Award for 'Most Innovative Teacher' based on his work in embedding sustainability in the curriculum and the wider university. 

His latest book; entitled ‘Elite theory and the 2003 Iraq Occupation by the United States – How US corporate elites created Iraq’s elitist political system’ was released in September, 2021. The book locates US elites as members of corporate elite networks and drivers of corporate elite interests, arguing that studying the social sources of US power plays an important part in understanding the nature of their decisions in US foreign policy. By exploring the decisions taken by American elites in the Iraq War, Bamo argues that the decisions and agendas US elites pursued in Iraq were driven by corporate elite interests – embedded in them as individuals and in groups through the corporate elite networks they were rooted in – which they prioritised, using democracy promotion as a cover-up. Using elite theory, membership network analysis and content analysis, this book explains who these elites were, how their backgrounds and social influences impacted their world-views, and what this looked like in a detailed exploration of their decision-making on the ground in Iraq. Bamo specifically examines the nature of US power, what drives it, what it looks like, and its legacies. 

Bamo has a degree in Law, an MA in Human Rights Political Science, and a PhD in international politics, and is currently an Honorary Research Fellow at City, University of London. His experience includes working both in the private corporate sector and UK higher education. His teaching experience includes Lecturing American Politics and Foreign Policy at City, University of London, Goldsmiths, University of London and Manchester Metropolitan University. He has also previously taught at the University of Liverpool and the University of Manchester, where at the latter, in 2019, he was awarded the esteemed ‘Making a Difference Award’ for outstanding teaching innovation in social responsibility.