Central Asian Research Center (CARC)

CENTRAL ASIAN RESEARCH CENTER (CARC)

About

Established in 2019, the SDU Central Asian Research Center (CARC) is a scholarly institution dedicated to deepening knowledge and understanding in the fields of law, media, and international relations within the Central Asian region.

Our dedicated team of researchers actively contributes to SDU University’s research efforts, with a particular focus on current issues in law, international relations, media, and journalism.

Aims and objectives

The center’s main goal is to produce valuable analyses and recommendations that can drive the region’s development.

By collaborating with active researchers and research centers in related fields, the center aims to expand its academic network and deepen the understanding of Central Asia. Additionally, by presenting the region’s culture, art, and traditions to the global academic community, the center promotes academic dialogue and scholarly culture across diverse perspectives.

To this end, the center organizes the International Conference on Law and Social Sciences (ICLSS) every two years, focusing on emerging topics relevant to the region. Furthermore, starting in 2025, we plan to launch two academic journals: the SDU Journal of Media Studies for researchers in journalism and media, and the SDU Law Journal for legal professionals and scholars.

Islam Supyaldiyarov

Director of Research Center

Islam Supyaldiyarov is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Social Sciences, SDU University, and a PhD candidate at L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University. His academic expertise covers Central Asian geopolitics, great power competition, and the political economy of the region, with a particular research focus on China–Russia rivalry in Central Asia. He has research and policy experience with leading academic and analytical institutions, including a research internship at the Institute for Demographic Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences and applied research work with the Central Asia Barometer. He has participated in advanced international training programs and summer schools at the OSCE Academy in Bishkek and the University of Warsaw, focusing on geopolitics, security, and regional power dynamics. His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, and he is the recipient of the V. Rajamanickam Research Prize awarded by the Praghna Indian Research Foundation. He currently leads interdisciplinary research initiatives and international academic collaborations at the Central Asian Research Center.

Durdona Yussupova

Research fellow

Durdona Yussupova is a Senior Lecturer at SDU University and a PhD candidate in Public Administration at Narxoz University. She holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from the International University of Japan. Her research interests include inclusive education policy, public administration, diversity and human rights, as well as regional studies, postcolonial and decolonial approaches to policy and knowledge production. Her research focuses on inclusive education governance in Kazakhstan, and her work has been published in national and international journals and conference proceedings. She has presented her research at international academic conferences and completed a research internship at Uppsala University (Sweden). Alongside her research activities, she teaches courses in international relations and global governance.

Aliya Anipina

Senior research fellow

Aliya Anipina is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Sciences, School of Social Sciences, Business and Law, SDU University. She holds a PhD in Foreign Philology, awarded in 2024 by Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. Her research interests focus on Oriental philology (Chinese language), translation studies, lexicology, and linguoculturology. She is the author of three textbooks, five dictionaries, and phrasebooks. In 2016, she contributed to the development of the Kazakh–Chinese / Chinese–Kazakh phrasebook in cooperation with the National Bank of Kazakhstan. In recognition of her contributions to science and education, she was awarded the “For Distinguished Service” medal in 2024.

Maigul Abilova

Senior research fellow

Maigul Abilova is a graduate of the Kazakh Humanities and Law University, holding a PhD in Law. Her research interests include Civil Law, Private International Law, International Trade Contracts, and International Commercial Arbitration. Dr. Abilova’s publications focus on issues related to the application of conflict of laws and determining applicable law in resolving disputes with foreign elements. She is the author of 36 publications, including a monograph, and has published in Kazakhstani and international journals as well as conference proceedings. She combines teaching and research activities with practical work in her field.

Shatlyk Amanov

Senior research fellow

Shatlyk Amanov is a full-time faculty member in the Department of Social Sciences at SDU University, where he has been teaching courses in international relations since 2017. After graduating with honors from the B.A. program in Public Policy, he held several senior management positions in the private sector. Currently, he teaches courses in the fields of international organizations, public international law, security studies, comparative politics and various modules on diplomacy. His research interests broadly focus on foreign policy, international organizations, comparative politics, and area studies. His recent publications include book chapters titled India’s Rise in the Global South and INSTC: Insights from the South−South Cooperation 3.0 model published by Routledge (2024) and Kazakhstan’s Foreign Policy and Human Rights published by SDU University (2020), as well as several journal articles, including The External Convergence of the EAEU on Global Issues: Evidence from the UN General Assembly Vote, 2000–2020 published in Journal of Globalization Studies (2024), and Democratic orientations of the people in the South Caucasus in the mid-1990s in KazNU Bulletin (2019). He is currently working on a research article about multivectorism in Kazakhstan’s foreign policy.

Marat Yestemirov

Senior research fellow

Marat Yestemirov is an Associate professor at the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences of SDU University. He has experience of working as a lawyer in private companies in Kazakhstan in addition to his teaching work at universities. Dr. Yestemirov received his PhD in 2018. His research interests include civil law, corporate law, and bankruptcy law of the Republic of Kazakhstan. He has completed research fellowships at the universities and research centers in Italy, Turkey, Russia, and Germany.

Sergey Golunov

Senior research fellow

Sergey Golunov holds a Doctor of Political Science degree from Nizhny Novgorod State University. His previous career includes positions as a Professor at Almaty Management University, MGIMO University (Russia), Kyushu University (Japan), and Volgograd State University. Dr. Golunov has also worked as a Lead Researcher at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations under the Russian Academy of Sciences, a Research Fellow at the University of Tartu (Estonia), and a Marie Curie Research Fellow at Durham University (UK). Dr. Golunov is the author of around 200 academic works, including several monographs, such as EU-Russian Border Security: Challenges and Responses (Routledge, 2012), Elephant in the Room: Corruption and Cheating in Russian Universities (Ibidem 2014), and Russia-Kazakhstan Border: Security and International Cooperation Issues (Volgograd State University, 2005). His research interests encompass border studies, particularly cross-border cooperation, as well as non-traditional security topics such as energy, water, and food security. Throughout his career, Dr. Golunov has contributed to numerous international research projects and received prestigious grants, including the EU’s Marie Curie Fellowship, Fulbright Scholarship, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education, and the Russian Science Foundation, Marie Curie Fellowship, and others.

Galym Zhussipbek

Senior research fellow

Galym Zhussipbek is an Associate Professor at the Department of Social Sciences, SDU University in Kazakhstan. He holds a PhD from Ankara University’s Faculty of Political Science. His PhD dissertation focused on critical theories/Neogramscian approach, European and Eurasian security, and orientalism. Dr7 Zhussipbek’s research interests include critical theories, Critical Realism, theoretical foundations of human rights, inclusive development, ideational trends in ‘Muslim world’, women’s rights, children’s rights, and decolonial approach.

Yessengul Kap

Senior research fellow

Yessengul Kap is the head of the “Minber” Center for journalism excellence and an Assistant professor at SDU University. She holds candidate of philology sciences degree from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan, as well as an MA in International and Multimedia Journalism from Newcastle University (UK). With nearly 20 years of experience, Yessengul Kap has worked for various print media outlets including Shalkar (1994-1998), Kazakh Yeli (1998-1999), and Turkistan (1999-2014). Additionally, she freelanced for BBC’s Kazakh service (2004-2006) and Radio Free/Radio Liberty’s Kazakh service (2008-2012). Yessengul Kap was the pioneer of the first Kazakh online news website, www.tarlan.kz (2002-2004), and has since managed two news websites: turkystan.kz (2009-2014) and minber.kz (since 2009). She continues to oversee the “Minber” Center for journalism excellence, organizing approximately 50 workshops to enhance the professionalism of Kazakh journalists. Her research interests encompass media ethics, media law, media literacy, and critical discourse analysis.

Assylzat Karabayeva

Adjunct research fellow

Assylzat Karabayeva holds a PhD in International Relations from the International University of Japan. Her research focuses mainly on the role of norms (ideas, identity, and culture) in the constraining and strengthening of region-building processes in Eurasia. She has working experience at the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, where she also dealt with the negotiation process between the Kazakh government and other foreign governments and international institutions (WTO, ITC, UNCTAD, WIPO, ASEAN and Eurasian Economic Commission). She has been a visiting scholar at George Washington University’s Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, and has lectured at SDU University and KIMEP University (Almaty), as well as the International University of Japan in Niigata prefecture.

Aizhan Kopbayeva

Senior research fellow

Aizhan Kopbayeva is a PhD, Assistant Professor, and Head of the Department of Law at SDU University. In 2018, she defended her PhD dissertation at the International University of Kyrgyzstan on the topic “Criminal Liability for Violating Land Laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan.” Her research interests focus on legal regulation of land relations, particularly the legal issues of changing the designated use of land plots and legal liability for violations of land laws. She also provides legal consultations on land disputes. For over fifteen years, she has been teaching the course on Land Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Aizada Nuriddenova

Senior Research Fellow

Aizada Nuriddenova is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Sciences, SDU University in Kazakhstan. She holds a PhD in International Relations, specializing in Chinese foreign policy, from Jilin University in China. During the 2023-2024 academic year she was a visiting scholar at the Central Asia Program (CAP), Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at George Washington University. Her research interests are centered on Chinese foreign policy and regionalism in Central Asia.

Darkhan Orynbassarov

Senior research assistant

Darkhan Orynbassarov is TR researcher, Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences at SDU University in Kaskelen, Kazakhstan and PhD Candidate in Narxoz University Almaty, Kazakhstan. He earned his master’s degree from SDU University in 2011 and has been teaching courses in international relations and international law since 2009. Currently, he teaches courses in the fields of Law, Introduction to English Common law, Introduction to Law, and various modules on law. His research interests focus broadly on human rights, particularly inclusive education, foreign policy, public policy and area studies. His recent publications are “Does Hydropower energy help to reduce CO2 emissions in European Union countries? evidence from quantile estimation” in Environmental Development (2023), “Globalization and Humanitarian protection: the principle of military necessity in the law of armed conflict” in International Conference (2021), Empowering Almaty’s Disabled Workforce: Action for Inclusive Labor Market in Journal of Economic Research & Business Administration (2024), and The Importance of Multi-Vector Energy Strategy for Kazakhstan, a Routledge book chapter (2024).

Madiyar Saudbayev

Senior research fellow

Madiyar Saudbayev is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, SDU University. He holds a PhD in Journalism and Mass Communication from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, complemented by international experience at Istanbul University. His research focuses on mass communication, digital media, and the integration of innovative pedagogical approaches in education. Currently serving as the Dean of the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences at SDU University, Dr. Saudbayev has a proven track record of fostering academic excellence, spearheading interdisciplinary research, and implementing strategic initiatives that drive institutional growth.

Samat Uralbayev

Research fellow

Samat Uralbayev is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Social Sciences, School of Social Sciences, Business and Law, SDU University. He is a PhD candidate in International Relations at Wuhan University (China) and Kazakh Ablai Khan University of International Relations and World Languages. He holds BA and MA degrees in International Relations from Ablai Khan University, where he previously served as Senior Lecturer, Vice-Dean, and Head of Department (2020–2025). In 2023–2024, he was a visiting scholar at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities (USA) within the Bolashak International Scholarship program. His research interests include China–Central Asia cooperation, regional affairs of Central Asia, geopolitics and geoeconomics, international organizations, cultural studies, and the internationalization of higher education.

Katira Karymsakova

Research Fellow

Katira Karymsakova is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Social Sciences, School of Social Sciences, Business and Law, SDU University (Kazakhstan). She is a PhD candidate at Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University (Kazakhstan) and INALCO – National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (France). She holds a Master’s degree from the Sorbonne–Kazakhstan Institute and the University of International Relations and World Languages. Her academic and teaching activities focus on French language instruction in the field of international relations. Her research interests include the history and civilization of modern and contemporary Central Asia, political processes, intercultural interactions, Islam from the colonial period to post-independence, social perceptions of radicalization, and the integration of innovative pedagogical approaches in Central Asian education.

Aikerim Alimzhanova

Senior Research Fellow

Meriyem Syurmen

Research fellow

Meriyem Syurmen is a Senior lecturer and coordinator of International Relations Educational Program at the Department of Social Sciences, SDU University in Kazakhstan. She holds an international master’s degree in Central and East European, Russian and Eurasian Studies from University of Glasgow, University of Tartu and Jagiellonian University. Her research interests are centered on migration and politics of memory.

Sultan Jienbaev

Assistant Coordinator

Sultan Jienbaev is a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the Department of Social Sciences, School of Social Sciences, Business and Law, SDU University. His academic focus includes Central Asian and Middle Eastern politics, regionalism, and state-building processes. He has experience in organizing academic conferences and designing courses aimed at developing critical thinking skills. His research interests cover political culture, historical narratives, and Kazakhstan’s foreign policy. He is also engaged in advanced language studies to further strengthen his expertise in regional affairs.

Work plan

Title of the work and main stages	Term (start-end)
Meeting with Royal Thai Embassy and the Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University	October 3
Guest lecture by Glenn Zyzanski, First Secretary at the Embassy of Canada to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan	October 9
Internship program	October
Launch of CARC Working Paper Series	September-June
Research Collaboration Workshops	October
Session with SDU faculty members on how to publish in Scopus-indexed journals	November
Student research conference	November-December
Thesis writing session for Social Sciences students (with CARC members)	November-December
Thesis writing session for Law students (with CARC members)	November-December
Research seminar with Galym Zhussipbek	February
Research seminar with Sergei Golunov	March
Visiting Scholar Program (Pilot)	March
Summer School 2026 on Central Asian Studies (in partnership with a collaborating institute, TBA)	August

Central Asian Research Center (CARC) at the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences invites graduate (master), undergraduate (bachelor) students from SDU University, and young SDU staff (under 25) with strong interest in research to develop a research project, present their work, and exchange feedback. The conference will be held on November 21, 2024 in person at the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences.

The aim of this conference is to provide a platform for young researchers to elaborate a research project, present their research ideas, and discuss their findings with peers and faculty. Participants are highly encouraged to work with a supervisor among the faculty members to ensure research originality, rigor, and significance.

Conference sessions

Law
International Law
Journalism and Media Studies
International Relations and Political Science

Conference themes

Public law
Private law
International law
Connectivity, trade, investments, digitalization, effects of AI
Migration and cross-border interactions
Climate change, environmental challenges, renewable energy
Gender perspectives, youth empowerment, social and demographic issues
Regional cooperation, international organizations, global governance, foreign policy, foreign policy and domestic politics nexus, public perception of other nations
Disinformation, propaganda, media literacy, data protection, data journalism, data diplomacy
Central Asian media climate

General information

Participants are encouraged to submit abstracts on above themes (but not limited only to these themes)
The language of the conference: English, Kazakh, and Russian
All applications should be submitted via the application form
Application deadline: November 8, 2024
Successful applicants will be notified by November 15, 2024
Late submissions will not be considered
At the time of application, presenters should submit an abstract of their research
Participants may submit joint research projects consisting of no more than two students

Why participate?

Share research ideas and findings
Network with peers, faculty, and practitioners
Develop scholarly communication skills
Prizes will be given for 1st, 2nd, 3rd places from each session
Certificate of participation will be given to each presenter
Selected projects will be published in online conference proceedings and displayed during the international conference of the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences (ICLSS-2025) in April 2025 in the form of poster presentations

Abstract submission guidelines

Abstracts should be no more than 250 words and contain no tables or figures
Abstracts should be prepared using the template here
For all abbreviations other than units, the word or words to be abbreviated should be written in full on the first mention followed by the abbreviation in parentheses

Publication and paper guidelines

Selected papers will be published in an online conference proceedings
Final article manuscripts should be submitted to iclss@sdu.edu.kz by December 20, 2024
The paper should be between 3000-4000 words including references
Empirical articles must contain an abstract (150 words), introduction, purpose, research question(s), central argument, literature review, method(s), results, discussion, and conclusion. Conceptual articles must contain introduction, purpose, research question(s), central argument, literature review, discussion, and conclusion.
Referencing should follow APA style. Examples can be found here
In-text citations should be done in author-date format
Text must be in single line spacing range, with justified alignment, Times New Roman, font size 14.
Title of the paper should be centered and typed in bold
The author’s name, affiliation, and email should be centered below the title in regular font
Paper margins are right margin 10 mm, upper margin 20 mm, left margin 30mm and bottom margin 25mm. Certain concepts and important ideas are allowed to be in bold or italics.
A new paragraph must have 12-15 mm indentation from left
Tables and figures must be easy to read and understand. They cannot be blurry.
Each table or figure must be numerated with a short title and a source