Dean of Graduate Studies, Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS)
Director, Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and the Caucasus Studies (MECACS)
Director, Centre for Syrian Studies (CSS)

My research interests lie at the intersection of the study of identities, ethnic conflict and violence and the (geo-)politics of natural resources. I have conducted research in the post-Soviet space (especially Central Asia and the South Caucasus) and East Asia (esp. Myanmar, Laos, and South Korea). Over the years my research has developed along the following tracks:

1. Identities, diasporas and conflict in the post-Soviet space, particularly in Central Asia and the Caucasus. I have published extensively on Uzbek communities living in the borderlands of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. My article, co-authored with Margaryta Rymarenko, on 'Krym, Rossiya, navsegda? Critical junctures, critical antecedents and the paths not taken in the making of Russia's annexation of Crimea' has recently been published in Nationalities Papers (2023). An article on ‘Identity through difference: liminal diasporism and generational change among the Koryo Saram in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’ was published in Vol. 20.2 of the European Journal of Korean Studies in 2021. 'Post-Soviet Koreans' was published in the Oxford Handbook of Asian History (2022). The book 'Diasporas in Central Asia. Origins, diversity, and change' is under contract with Cambridge University Press. 
2. Comparative authoritarianism. My monograph on ‘Laos. The making of an internationalised state’ is under contract with Cambridge University Press.  I have recently completed a project on with colleagues at the Caucasus Resource Research Center in Tbilisi (Georgia), published as a special issue of the Caucasus Survey (‘Taking partly free voters seriously’, 2017 vol. 5. N. 3). I have also co-edited 'Authoritarian stability in the South Caucasus: Voting preferences, autocratic responses and regime stability in Armenia and Georgia' with Koba Turmanidze, published by Routledge in 2018.
3. Energy, mega-projects and climate change. I have published on various aspects related to energy politics and the international relations of natural resources, climate change and economic development, the rise of resource nationalism in the smaller but resource-rich economies at China’s borders, the resource nexus, and global energy and environmental governance. The article 'Luang Prabang: climate change and rapid development' has recently been published in 'Cities. International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning' (97C, 2020). A chapter on ‘The BRICS, energy security and global energy governance’ was published in SY Kim (ed) The BRICS and the Global Economy’ (2020). The book 'Laos. The making of an internationalised state' is under contract with Cambridge University Press). 'From landlocked to landlinked: Connectivity and mega-projects in Turkmenistan' was published in Studies on Central Asia and the Caucasus in 2025. 
4. Inter-Asian connections. My most recent work revolves around the study of Asian inter-connectedness in the form of development assistance, logistics, trade and investment. I am especially interested in the policies of China and Korea towards South-East Asia (especially Myanmar) and Central Asia and the effects of ODA on inequalities. I am especially interested in the politics of aid and shifting paradigms in development assistance. Research on the topic was published in Eurasian Geography and Economics in 2024 (Develompent aid and regional inequality: the case of Myanmar; with A. Kemmerling) and 2022 ('The new swing of the pendulum? Cross-border aid and shifting aid paradigms in post-coup Myanmar', EUI RSC PP 2022/08.

IR5501 Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asia Security Studies: Theory and Analysis (2025-)
IR5510 Central Asia in World Order (2017-)
IR3074 International Relations of Energy and the Environment (2017-)
IR4569 Geopolitics of Energy in the Caspian Region (2017-)
IR5601 Research Design and Methods in International Relations (2018-2020)

Contributions to:
SS5101 Being a social scientist
IR2006 Studying International Relations (energy)
GD5111 Energy inequalities and climate responsibilities (energy, security and conflict)