Dr. Aijan Sharshenova Lecturer, MA in Politics and Security Courses taught: Central Asia and Russia a.sharshenova@osce-academy.net

Dr. Aijan Sharshenova is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Global Sustainable Development, University of Warwick, and the Executive Director at Crossroads Central Asia, an independent think tank. Dr. Sharshenova holds PhD in Politics and MA in International Studies from the University of Leeds, UK. Prior to joining the OSCE Academy, Dr. Sharshenova has worked at the UN and UNDP country offices in the Middle East, and taught courses in International Politics and Academic Writing. Dr. Sharshenova’s research interests include foreign policy analysis, Russian politics, democracy promotion, autocratic diffusion, and international development.

Recent publications:

Books:

- Dall’Agnola, J. and Sharshenova, A. (eds) 2023. Researching Central Asia: Navigating positionality in the field, Springer Briefs in Political Science series, Open access funded by the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, available at https://link.springer.com/book/9783031390258 

- Sharshenova, A. 2018. The European Union’s democracy promotion in Central Asia, Columbia University Press & Ibidem Verlag, available at https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-european-unions-democracy-promotion-in-central-asia/9783838211510

Book chapters:

- Sharshenova, A. 2024 (forthcoming). ‘Polity diffusion and regime security in Central Asia’ in Elmuradov, A. and Borschelt Camelo, M.S. (eds) Shifting Security and Power Constellations in Central Asia, Nomos

- Sharshenova, A. 2022. ‘Evolution of governance in the Kyrgyz Republic: Thirty years in transition”, in Amarasinghe, P. & Leontiev, L. (eds) Thirty years looking back: State building, rule of law and human rights in the post-Soviet space, Routledge, available at https://www.routledge.com/State-Building-Rule-of-Law-Good-Governance-and-Human-Rights-in-Post-Soviet/Leontiev-Amarasinghe/p/book/9781032055381

Journal articles:

- Sharshenova, A. & Pierobon, C. 2023. ‘German and Russian public diplomacy in Kyrgyzstan’, Europe-Asia Studies Journal, 75(8), pp. 1384-1407, available at https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2023.2213871

- Adambussinova, Z. and Sharshenova, A. 2023. ‘Mesta pamyati postsovetskoi nostalgii v sovermennom Bishkeke’ (Memory sites of post-Soviet nostalgia in contemporary Bishkek – in Russian), Nemonomif interdisciplinary decolonial journal, no.4, pp.4-14, available at https://esimde.org/archives/3306

Policy papers and reports:

- Sabyrbekov, R., Sulaimanova, B., and Sharshenova, A. 2024. Digitalization and decarbonization in Central Asia. Open access publication funded by CAREC Think Tanks Network’s grant, available at https://www.carecinstitute.org/publications/new-report-highlights-opportunities-and-challenges-of-digitalization-of-infrastructure-and-decarbonization-in-central-asia/

- Sharshenova, A., Nabiyeva, K., and Schiek, S. (eds) 2024. Living labs and sustainability in Germany and Central Asia. Open access publication funded the German Federal Foreign Office and the German Academic Exchange Service, available at https://spce-hub.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/spcehub_livinglabs_en.pdf

- Sharshenova, A. 2023. ‘Understanding Russia’s Central Asia policy’, Crossroads Central Asia think tank, https://crossroads-ca.org/understanding-russia-s-central-asia-policy/

- Sharshenova A. 2023. ‘The impact of the war in Ukraine on the BRICS: Six takeaways form an expert discussion’, Foreign Policy Centre think tank, available at https://fpc.org.uk/the-impact-of-the-war-in-ukraine-on-the-brics-six-takeaways-from-an-expert-discussion/

- Sharshenova, A. 2023. ‘Walking a fine line – Kyrgyzstan’s foreign policy post-2022’, European Neighrbourhood Council think tank, available at http://encouncil.org/2023/05/17/enc-analysis-walking-a-fine-line-kyrgyzstans-foreign-policy-post-2022/

- Sharshenova, A., Schiek, S., Tskhay, A., and Dzhuraev, Sh. 2023. Central Asia Forecasting 2023: Results from an expert survey. OSCE Academy in Bishkek, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, and IGPT Berlin, open access publication funded by Friedrich Ebert Foundation, available at https://centralasia-forecasting.net/