Mohammad Khalilian is a second-year Ph.D. student in sociology at the University of Kentucky. His research explores various social networks, including political, organizational, behavioral, and musical networks. He is currently studying how power elite networks impact the privatization of state-owned enterprises in the global south, particularly in post-revolutionary Iran. His examination delves into how militarization, nepotism, and crony capitalism affect privatization efforts. Having worked as a music journalist for a decade, Mohammad is also interested in the sociological analysis of music. His research in this field investigates how the dynamics of musicians’ networks and the politics of state and record labels shape music production.