Aijan Sharshenova

Dr Aijan Sharshenova is executive director at Crossroads Central Asia and a research fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre in London. She holds a PhD in Politics awarded at the University of Leeds and two Master’s degrees in International Studies and EU Studies. Aijan has recently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, where she researched Russian public diplomacy in Central Asia. In addition to her academic career, Aijan has worked in the international development area, including the UN system in the Middle East. Aijan has published extensively on Central Asia’s relations with the EU, Russia and China, as well as domestic Kyrgyz politics. She teaches courses on international politics, Central Asian politics, Russian politics, research methods in social sciences, and ethics in research.