On May 15, 2026, the themed lecture titled “Eurasian Connectivity in an Age of War: Iran, Central Asia, and a New Geographical Landscape of Intertwined Opportunities and Risks” was held in Room 506, No. 2 Teaching Building of Peking University. Hosted by Research Center of Eastern Literature, Peking University and organized by the Department of West Asian Languages and Cultures, School of Foreign Languages, Peking University, the lecture was delivered by Dr. Ali Alavi, Associate Professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Shen Yiming, Lecturer of the Department of West Asian Languages and Cultures, presided over the event, while Professor Liu Yingjun, Tenured Associate Professor, participated as a discussant.

The lecture focused on the restructuring of Eurasian transport corridors amid wars, sanctions and shifting security landscapes. Dr. Alavi argued that the global order is shifting away from rigid ideology-based alliances toward a new system dominated by “fluid alliances”. Under this emerging order, geostrategic assets including transport routes, seaports and chokepoints are becoming increasingly significant. He emphasized that Iran, as a pivotal hub linking the Caspian Sea, Central Asia and the Persian Gulf, holds irreplaceable strategic value within the Eurasian connectivity framework. Against this backdrop, recent competition between the United States and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz carries far-reaching implications for global energy security, international trade and regional stability.

During the discussion session, teachers and students engaged in in-depth exchanges covering the strategic logic behind control over the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the impact of US-Iran tensions on alliances among the Gulf states. Dr. Alavi also shared detailed information with attendees on academic programs and training pathways for Iranian Studies at SOAS, University of London. This lecture was part of the “Multi-Civilizational Interaction and Integration in the Indian Ocean Region” Overseas Scholars Lecture Series, and one of the commemorative events marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of Peking University’s discipline of Oriental Studies. By offering fresh perspectives on the geopolitical transformations across the Middle East and Eurasia, the lecture fostered academic dialogue in the fields of regional studies and Iranian Studies.

Text and Photos: Liu Yikun

Translated by Chen Ying