Murad Ismayilov is a doctoral student in Sociology at the University of Cambridge and Research Fellow at the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy. He holds an MSt in International Relations from the University of Cambridge (2009) and an MA in International Relations from Baku State University (2004). In 2005, he completed a four-month NATO Senior Executive Program at the NATO Studies Centre in Bucharest (Romania). His research interests include political and social theory (with a focus on critical approaches), sociology and political economy of culture, postcolonial theory, sociology and political economy of post-Soviet transformation (with a thematic focus on social stratification and class; nationalism, identity and state-society relations), social movements, sociology and political economy of power, sociology and political economy of religion, sociology of class, sociology of intellectuals, as well as sociology and security of the Middle East. He has authored a number of academic articles and book chapters, including placements in refereed journals and edited volumes.