He is a French geographer renowned for his extensive research on Iran’s social political, and urban landscapes. Hourcade is an Emeritus Research Director at the French CNRS, and is affiliated with the Centre de Recherche sur le Monde Iranien (CERMI). He previously served as the Director of IFRI from 1978 to 1993 and led the research groupe “Monde iranien” ar CNRS from 1993 to 2005.