Contributors
Collaboration is at the core of Crossroads Central Asia's work. Scholars's network of Crossroads is international and expanding.

Shairbek Dzhuraev
Shairbek Dzhuraev is co-founder and president of Crossroads Central Asia. He is also an Associate Research Fellow at the OSCE Academy in Bishkek. Previously. Shairbek served as Deputy Director at OSCE Academy in Bishkek and as a Dean of Academic Development at the American University of Central Asia.

Eric McGlinchey
Eric McGlinchey is Associate Professor of Politics and Government in George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. McGlinchey received his PhD from Princeton University and is the author of Chaos, Violence, Dynasty: Politics and Islam in Central Asia (2011). He is Principal Investigator for the study, Russian, Chinese, Militant, and Ideologically Extremist Messaging Effects on United States Favorability Perceptions in Central Asia (Minerva Research Initiative, January 2017 – December 2019). McGlinchey has published…

Catherine Owen
Catherine Owen is British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Politics at the University of Exeter. Prior to her award, she was Lecturer in Central Asian Studies in the Department of History and Civilization, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China. She has also worked on the UK Research Council-funded project, ‘Rising Powers and Conflict Management in Central Asia’…

Nurseit Niyazbekov
Nurseit Niyazbekov is Assistant Professor in the Department of International Relations at KIMEP University in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He does research and consulting for various international media and think tanks in the areas of post-communist transitions, democratization, Central Asian state-building…

Emil Dzhuraev
Emil Dzhuraev is a political scientist and regular commentator on political trends in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia. Emil holds PhD in Politics from the University of Maryland at College Park and MA in Political Science, Indiana University, Bloomington. His expertise includes political regimes and democratization processes in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia; issues of constitutional development; regional geopolitics…
Emir Kulov
Emir Kulov, PhD, is Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of International and Comparative Politics at the American University of Central Asia. Prior to this, he had worked as an Assistant Lecturer at the University Kent leading undergraduate seminar sessions in British Politics and Democratization. Emir’s research interests include party and electoral politics in new democracies, political regime typologies, contentious politics, representation and parliamentarism.

Farkhod Tolipov
Farkhod Tolipov, PhD, is a director at Bilim Karvoni (“Caravan of Knowledge”), a non-governmental research institution in Tashkent. Dr Tolipov graduated from Tashkent State University. In 1994-2005 he had taught at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in Tashkent, and in 2005-2010 – at the National University of Uzbekistan. Dr Tolipov served as a chief consultant for…

Jakhongir Kakhkharov
Jakhongir Kakhkharov, PhD, is a Lecturer in Finance at the College of Business, Government and Law, Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia. He holds PhD degree in Finance from Griffith University, Australia. Dr Kakhkharov’s current teaching areas are “Money, Banking and Finance,” “Investment Analysis and Management”…

Karolina Kluczewska
Karolina Kluczewska is currently a post-doctoral research fellow at the research centre CERAL, University of Paris 13; and a research associate at the Tajik National University. She holds a PhD degree in International Relations from the University of St Andrews. She was also affiliated with the Higher School of Economics in Moscow and Tomsk State University. Karolina has…

Muslimbek Buriev
Muslimbek Buriev is affiliated with CABAR.Asia, a Central Asian analytical platform launched by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. His writing focuses on political and social issues in Tajikistan. Muslimbek’s research interests encompass public and foreign policy, security and ethnic issues. He has an MA in Politics and Security from the OSCE Academy in Bishkek.

Vito Acosta
Vito Acosta is a fellow at Crossroads Central Asia. He earned his Master of Arts in East Asian Languages & Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was also a member of the Huntsman Program in International Studies & Business. He has studied languages in China, Kyrgyzstan, and Azerbaijan. His research is focused on Silk Road studies, diplomatic history, historiography & conceptual history, and geopolitics of Central Eurasia & China.

Yulia Nikitina
Yulia Nikitina is Associate Professor of World Politics and Leading Research Fellow at the Center for the Post-Soviet Studies at the Moscow State University of International Relations (MGIMO). She is a specialist of security politics in Eurasia with a focus on regional organizations and Russian…