Authors

CONTRIBUTORS

Afa Alizada was born and raised in Baku, Azerbaijan. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in International Affairs and Conflict Resolution at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Anahit Shirinyan is a columnist and analyst for the Yerevan-based “Hetq” newspaper. She holds a Master’s degree in international relations from Yerevan State University. Her articles focus on Caucasian regional issues, Post-Soviet developments, and Armenian-Turkish relations. They have also appeared in the “South Caucasus Regional Analytical Journal” of the Caucasus Journalists Network.

Anastasia Voronkova is a PhD candidate in the School of Politics and International Relations, Queen Mary, University of London. She holds a BA in Law and Politics and an MA in Global and Comparative Politics, both from Queen Mary, University of London. Her research interests include ethnic conflicts in the South Caucasus, especially the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, theories of ethnic conflict and political violence, symbolic approaches to ethnonationalism and the use of comparative methodology in sociology and political science.

Anna Poghosyan graduated from the European Regional Academy in Yerevan. She is currently the vice-president of Solidarity of Students, as well as the founding member of “The Youth Coordination  Board” of National Democratic  Institute.

Armen Grigoryan is a political scientist based in Yerevan. He obtained his Master’s degree from the Central European University in Budapest in 2006, did an internship at the European Parliament in 2007, and attended several summer university courses on mediation, human rights, and other disciplines. Mr. Grigoryan is the author of book chapters, conference reports and op-eds. Presently, he is a Visiting Fellow at the Open Society Institute (Budapest).

Artak Ayunts has BA and MA degrees in Sociology from Yerevan State University. He also has an MA degree in Conflict Resolution from Bradford University, Peace Studies Department, United Kingdom. He completed his PhD studies at Yerevan State University in 2004 on the topic of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Currently he is a Tavitian Fellow at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. Prior to that he was the representative of the International Alert in Armenia. His research interests include Conflict Management, Peace Studies and Discourse Analysis.

Arzu Geybullayeva is a regional analyst and blogger. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey and a Master’s of Science degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Asbed Kotchikian is a lecturer of political science and international relations at the Global Studies Department at Bentley University, where he teaches courses on the Middle East and former Soviet Union. He is also on the editorial board of The Caucasus Edition: Journal of Conflict Transformation, and the editor-in-chief of Armenian Review, a peer reviewed academic journal.

Ayan R. is a senior student at Khazar University in Baku. Majoring in international relation and regional studies and participant of international and regional projects related to conflictology and security.

Edgar Khachatryan is a co-founder and director of Peace Dialogue NGO based in Armenia.  He specializes in international peace-building trainings, consultancy and expertise in gender and peace processes, violence prevention, and post-war stabilization and recovery.

Efghan Niftiyev graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Ege University, Turkey.  After a brief experience working as a news correspondent in Istanbul, he pursued graduate education in International Journalism and received a Master’s degree from Georgetown University. After graduating from Georgetown he worked for a Congressional Study Group on Turkey. He is currently a Graduate student at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University.

Elvin Yusifli studied International Relations in Baku State University. He is currently coordinating the Department of International Relations in the Society for Humanitarian Research (SHR).

Emil Sanamyan is a commentator on Armenian and regional affairs; he was born in Baku, raised in Moscow and lives in Washington.

Erik Grigoryan participated in and facilitated a number of Armenian-Azerbaijani initiatives, including with the Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation. He has a Master’s degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Yerevan State University. His research is focused on the role of mediation in international conflicts. Erik’s Master’s thesis is titled “Mediation in Protracted Conflicts: A Comparative Analysis of Cyprus and Karabagh Conflicts.”

Fatalin is an Azerbaijani blogger and the author of “Fighting Windmills?Take a pill”

Fidan Huseynli is a civil society activist and active participant of the peace-building initiatives between Armenia and Azerbaijan during the last 10 years. She is a co-founder of the Caucasus Forum for Solidarity and Cooperation, and member of the National Public Council on Resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Azerbaijani National Committee on European integration. She holds her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in International Law and International Relations from the Baku State University and her second Master’s degree in the EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies has been obtained from the College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium. She has also participated as a visiting scholar within the fellowship program provided by the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute in the SAIS at the Johns Hopkins University, Washington, DC.

Gayane Novikova is Founder and Director of the Center for Strategic Analysis “Spectrum,” and visiting fellow at the Near Eastern Languages and Civilization Department, Harvard University.  In 2009 she was Fulbright Research Scholar at Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. In 1994-2000 she was an Expert at the Armenian Center for National and International Studies; in 1978-2000 – Researcher at the Department of the Arabic Studies of the Institute of the Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Science of Armenia. Areas of expertise: regional security, including the ethno-political conflicts and unconventional threats, international relations. Dr. Novikova is an author of six monographs and more than 70 scientific articles; editor-in-chief of 13 collections of anthologies. Since 2004 up to present Dr. Novikova is President of the George C. Marshall Center Alumni Association of Armenia.

Gegam Bagdasaryan is the Founder and President of the Stepanakert Press Club, the Editor-In-Chief of “The Analyticon” Monthly Journal.

Gulara Azimzadeh graduated from Azerbaijan University of Languages. She is a young activist and a blogger.

Gulshan Pashayeva is the head of foreign policy analysis department of a Baku-based think-tank – Center for Strategic Studies since July, 2009. She worked for United Nations Office in Azerbaijan for almost eight years – as National Program Coordinator for the UNIFEM regional project “Women for Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding in the Caucasus” and as Public Information Associate for UNDPI office. She also directed the Conflict Research Center, a non-governmental organization located in Baku and taught at the different state and private universities. Ms. Pashayeva specializes in language policy, conflict resolution and security issues. She is the author of more than 30 publications including a book chapter in the Ethnopolitical Encyclopaedia of Europe, Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.

Haroutiun Khachatrian is a political and economic analyst and is the Editor-in-Chief of The Noyan Tapan Highlights, the English-language weekly in Yerevan.  Born in 1955, his Ph.D degree is in Cell Biology. Haroutiun Khachatrian is the co-author of the book ‘Variants for Solution of the Karabakh Conflict: concepts and reality, 2006 (together with Ali Abasov from Baku)

Hashim Gafarov is a PhD candidate at the School of Political Studies of the University of Ottawa. He has a BA degree in International Relations from Baku State University, MA in International Relations and Security from the Toulouse Institute of Political Sciences in France, and Masters of Philosophy in Peace Studies from the University of Bradford in UK. Mr. Gafarov also worked at World Security Institute in Washington DC, and as communications officer for the Canadian Government. His research interests are ethnic conflicts, war and peace as well as security studies, nationalism, and post-Soviet politics, and his PhD thesis is on the impact of third party intervention and autonomy on ethnic conflicts.

Hovhannes Hovhannisyan is an associate professor at the Department of the History of Armenian Church and Ecclesiology, Faculty of Theology at Yerevan State University and at the Center of Civilization and Cultural Studies of the same University. He writes on religious themes at “panorama.am”. In 2005 he has participated in the Fulbright program in US “On Religious Pluralism in US”. Hovhannes Hovhannisyan is interested in inter-religious dialogue and is involved in international level projects on dialogue and religious pluralism. He received his B.A. in Theology from Yerevan State University in 2000, and his M.A. in 2002. He did his PhD in June 2007 and the theme of his thesis was “The reformation movement in Armenian Apostolic Church within 1901-1906”.

Hovhannes Nikoghosyan is currently a post-graduate student at Russian-Armenian (Slavonic University in Yerevan, Armenia. He is an expert on Armenian foreign policy, regional security, peace studies, human rights and sovereignty, and has contributed to numerous publications in Armenian, Russian, and English on these topics. In 2008, he earned a “Qualified Specialist” (M.A. equivalent) degree with honors from the Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in humanitarian intervention theory.

Ian Cornell is currently a Robert Bosch Trans-Atlantic Fellow from the US based in Berlin, Germany. His academic/work focus is the EU relationship with Eurasia. He is a 2010 graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Irina Ghaplanyan is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge. She has a number of publications on the issues of security, economic cooperation, and conflict resolution in the South Caucasus and the Greater Black Sea region. Her current research focuses on Armenia’s foreign policy and political elite.

Jale Sultanli is the co-founder and Managing Editor of Caucasus Edition and Senior Program Officer at Academy for Educational Development in Washington, DC. She organized and facilitated numerous Armenian-Azerbaijani dialogue workshops and conferences involving students, professionals and NGOs and has been involved in number of regional projects in the South Caucasus. Jale has 10 years of experience designing and managing international development projects in civil society and governance, capacity building, communication and conflict resolution in South Caucasus, Serbia, Nepal, Uganda and Kenya. She worked with several of local and international organizations such Eurasia Foundation, Chemonics International and Group 484. Jale co-founded and served as a co-director of the Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation from 2007 to 2010. She holds a Master’s Degree in Social and Public Policy and a Certificate in Conflict Resolution and Peace-building from Duquesne University.

Jamila Mammadova earned her Bachelor’s degree in Jurisprudence – Legal Studies from Baku State University. She worked as a program officer in various projects for several non-governmental organizations. Jamila immigrated to the United States in 2005, and in 2009 she graduated from George Mason University with a Master’s degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. She is currently volunteering for Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation as a Development Officer.

Lale Yalcin-Heckmann is a professor of anthropology at Martin-Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg, Germany.

Mahir Zeynalov is a foreign affairs correspondent for the Turkey-based English daily, Today’s Zaman. He has extensively written on Turkish foreign policy and the South Caucasus in various newspapers and academic journals. He previously worked for the Los Angeles Times. He is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in “Transformation in the South Caucasus” at Tbilisi State University.

Marine Ejuryan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations and a Master’s Degree in European Studies from Yerevan State University. She has coordinated and participated in a number of  regional projects. Her research interests include regional developments, with a focus on Turkish-Armenian and Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.

Mark Dietzen is currently a Fox International Fellow from Yale University, pursuing research at Freie Universität Berlin.  He earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Wabash College (2005), and a Master of Arts in International Relations from Yale University (2010).  Mark served as Executive Director of the Yale Journal of International Affairs from 2009-2010.

Nigar Goksel is a Senior Analyst at European Stability Initiative (ESI) where she works on the Caucasus and Turkey. She is also the editor-in-chief of Turkish Policy Quarterly  (TPQ, www.turkishpolicy.com),  a leading source of policy analysis on Turkey’s neighborhood.  Nigar takes part in various regional civil society dialogue and reconciliation platforms, and contributes regularly to the German Marshall Fund  ’On Turkey’ series.

Nona Shahnazarian has been an Associate Researcher at Center for Pontic and Caucasian Studies (Krasnodar, Russia, from 1999 to present) and Lecturer, Kuban State University (from 2002 – 2005), Kuban Socio-Economic Institute in Krasnodar (from 2006 to present). She received her Candidate s Degree in Social Anthropology from the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, (17 May 2005) and has conducted fieldwork in Russia, USA, Armenia, Georgia, and Nagorno-Karabagh through grants from Memorial (Historical and Human Right organization, Moscow; 2003, 2004), the Soros Foundation (1999), and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (2004), The Carnegie Fund (2006), Fulbright (2006-2007), The Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies (2008), Slavic Research Center, Hokkaido university (2010-2011).  Her main academic interests are ethnographic research on Gender Studies, Diasporic Identities, Alternative Economies, and Patriarchy.

Orkhan Ali  holds an MA degree in Non-Proliferation and International Security from the Department of War Studies of King’s College London (KCL) and Post-Graduate Studies Diploma from Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). Currently, he works as a Governance Programme Officer at Oxfam Great Britain (GB) in Azerbaijan and is also contributing to the ‘Youth Eastern Partnership’ (YEaP) International Project as a writer in security affairs.

Peter Roethke is currently completing his MA in International Affairs at the American University School of International Service.  He received his JD from the American University Washington College of Law and his BA from Brandeis University.”

Phil Gamaghelyan is the co-founder and co-director of the Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation, and the managing editor of the Journal of Conflict Transformation: Caucasus Edition. He initiated and facilitated numerous Azerbaijani-Armenian dialogue and training workshops and conferences with diverse audiences including students, politicians and educators. Before establishing the Imagine Center and the Journal, Phil served as a consultant, trainer and facilitator for various Turkish-Armenian, Arab-Israeli, Indian-Pakistani, Afghani initiatives by Seeds of Peace, Harvard University, Brandeis University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Phil lectured at Tufts University on the topics of collective memory and history in Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process. He has written methodological articles and manuals focusing on working with historical memory in ethnic conflicts.

Rauf Garagozov holds degrees in Psychology from Moscow Lomonossov State University (M.S., 1981, Ph.D., 1988). He worked in several scientific centers and universities in Moscow, Baku and St. Louis, USA. Currently, Garagozov is a leading research fellow at the Center for Strategic Studies in Baku. He has authored over 80 articles and books (the latest: Metamorphoses of the Collective Memory in Russia and the Central Caucasus (2005). Garagozov’s research is focused on collective memory, national identity formation and nationalism, interethnic conflict and conflict resolution.

Rauf Rajabov is the Editor-in-chief of Information-Analytical Agency 3rd View, political analyst.

Richard Giragosian is the director of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS), an independent think tank in Yerevan.

Sasun Khachatryan is employed by Armenian news website Tert.am as Managing English Editor/Translator. He holds a diploma from Yerevan State Linguistic University after V. Brusov as a teacher of English and French. Currently, he studies at the Caucasus Schools of Journalism at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, majoring in Journalism and Media Management.

Shahla Sultanova is a freelance journalist for IWPR, media /communication trainer and adjunct lecturer at Khazar University. She holds two Master’s degrees in Journalism and Media Management from Georgian Institute of Public Affairs and Indiana University Bloomington.  Sultanova worked at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty from 2006 to 2009, as well as Internews, Azerbaijan.

Sirun Gharagyozyanis a Muskie scholarship alumna and studied Special Education at Minnesota State University in Mankato. Sirun holds her Bachelor’s degree in English and French languages from Yerevan State Linguistic University, Armenia. She has worked for NGOC Civil Society Development NGO advocating for civic rights and empowering democracy in Northern Armenia as well as for Habitat for Humanity NGO (currently Fuller Center for Housing). Currently, she works for YMCA Vanadzor.

Tabib Huseynov is an analyst with the International Crisis Group (ICG). He conducts research and produces reports related to regional politics and conflicts, with particular focus no Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus. Prior to his work with ICG, he worked as the Political Programs Officer with the International Republican Institute. Mr. Huseynov has received his BA in International Relations from the Public Administration Academy under the President of Azerbaijan in Baku and MA in International Relations and European Studies from the Central European Studies in Budapest, Hungary. Mr. Huseynov has co-authored The European Union and the South Caucasus (Gutersloh, 2009) and authored Resolving Ethno-territorial Conflicts: A Case for Mountainous Karabakh (Berlin, 2008) and a number of other independent publications.

Tamar Palandjian is a second year master’s student at George Mason University’s Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, focusing her graduate studies on youth programs, Evaluation and the South Caucasus region and its conflicts.  Her professional experiences include a Graduate Assistantship at the George Mason University Office of the Ombudsman, Mercy Corps CMG (Boston, MA), a US Fulbright scholarship to Armenia and working as a Youth Program Coordinator for the Yerevan-based non-governmental organization Civil Society Institute.  She received her undergraduate degree in Political Science from Wheaton College (Norton, MA) and speaks Armenian, Spanish and beginner’s Russian.

Thomas de Waal is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington and author, most recently, of “The Caucasus: An Introduction” (Oxford University Press, 2010).

Turana Baghirova is a second-year graduate student at George Mason University majoring in Peace Operations Policy. She received her bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2007. Turana is also an alumna of the FSA/FLEX High School Exchange Program (2003), during which she spent in in Atlanta, GA, USA and the American European Scholarship Program of Open Society Institute, held at West-Chester University of Pennsylvania (2001).

Veronika Agajanyan is a Political Science master student at Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University in Yerevan, Armenia. Since March 2010, she has been developing her blog named Track of Train. Blog:http://agajanyan.wordpress.com/

Zahid Movlazadeh has more than seven years of experience developing CSO partnerships for conflict transformation, designing and facilitating confidence building initiatives, facilitating bilateral meetings and dialogue events, as well as designing strategies for promotion of peace in the Caucasus, Central Asia,Eastern Europe and the Middle East.  He currently works with the GPPAC, prior to what he represented International Alert in Azerbaijan, worked with the Centre for Peacebuilding and Community Development in Russia and served as a consultant for various local and international organizations on issues related to conflict resolution.

Zamira Abbasova was born in Vardenis, Armenia and raised in Azerbaijan. She is a second-year graduate student at School for International Training majoring in Conflict Transformation. She received her bachelor’s degree in Philology in 2007.  Her research interest includes organizational conflicts, large group identity and development in post war countries.

SPECIAL ISSUES

Elise Crane is a master’s degree candidate at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where she studies international conflict resolution and communications. She earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of Colorado and holds a certificate in Russian language and culture from St. Petersburg State University. Elise writes frequently on media’s role in international relations, including on her Huffington Post blog ((http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elise-crane)), and is currently managing editor of The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs (http://fletcher.tufts.edu/forum/default.shtml).

ACADEMIC ARTICLE CONTRIBUTORS

Humay Guliyeva has a Master Degree in Public Administration from Columbia University with concentration in Economic and Political Development, and is currently working at World Bank.

Dr. Laurence Broers is a Projects Manager for the Caucasus Programme at Conciliation Resources. Between 1997 and 2004 he completed doctoral studies in political science on Georgia, and also worked as one of the editors of the first comprehensive Georgian-English dictionary to be published since Georgian independence. He has published numerous articles on the politics of ethnicity and democratization in post- Soviet Georgia, and was editor of Conciliation Resources’ 2006 publication on the Nagorny Karabakh peace process in its Accord series.

Margarita Tadevosyan recently has graduated from George Mason University School of Public Policy with the Master’s degree in Peace Operations Policy. In addition, she also holds a Master’s degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Yerevan State University. Margarita was part of the editorial team that was working on the Armenian translation and printing of the book by George Mason University Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution faculty Sandra Cheldelin, Daniel Druckman and Larissa Fast Conflict: From Analysis to Intervention. In 2005, she has directed and filmed a documentary on Nagorno Karabakh with the State Radio and TV Academy.

Milena Oganesyan is a PhD candidate in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Montana, U.S.A. She has an MA in History from the same University. The title of her thesis is “James A. Baker, III and Eduard A. Shevardnadze: The Story of the Madrid Peace Conference of 1991.” Milena holds a Diploma/B.A. in History (Near East) and International Relations from the Tbilisi Institute of Asia and Africa, Georgia. She is interested in peace and conflict studies, international development, and human rights.

AUTHORS of NEWS DIGEST

Arzu Geybullayeva is a regional analyst and blogger, the Associate Editor of Caucasus Edition and Co-Editor of The Neutral Zone. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey and a Master’s of Science degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Sasun Khachatryan is employed by Armenian news website Tert.am as Managing English Editor/Translator. He holds a diploma from Yerevan State Linguistic University after V. Brusov as a teacher of English and French. Currently, he studies at the Caucasus Schools of Journalism at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, majoring in Journalism and Media Management.