Dr. Saniia Toktogazieva is an Associate Professor and Dean of Strategic Planning at the American University of Central Asia. Her main area of expertise is Constitutional Law of the KR and Central Asian states, comparative constitutional law, international human rights law, and international criminal law, issues of democratization, rule of law, and constitutionalism.

She holds an SJD (Doctor of Juridical Science) in Comparative Constitutional Law from Central European University (CEU) with summa cum laude, an LL.M. in Human Rights (CEU), an LLB in International and Business law from the American University of Central Asia.

Saniia was a fellow of the Academic Fellowship Program (OSF) and a recipient of the research grant “Beyond the Ivory Tower” supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Saniia has extensive experience of working as a short-term consultant or invited expert in international, regional, and local organizations such as the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA, Sweden), NDI, IMO, OSCE, and as an instructor and teaching assistant at Central European University.

Saniia is a laureate of the “Honor of the Nation” award dedicated to the memory of Salizhan Zhigitov, for civic activism that speaks the language of truth and touches the consciousness of the nation (2020), laureate of the “Zharan” award for a significant civic contribution to the development of rule of law in Kyrgyzstan (2021). Saniia is also a laureate of the “The Best Teacher Award of AUCA” in recognition of excellence in teaching and dedication to the growth and enrichment of AUCA (2018).