Our Fellows

Kamila Smagulova

EUCAM Research Fellow

Areas of expertise: political science, nationalism and nation-building policies, civil society and civic activism

My name is Kamila Smagulova. I am a researcher from Kazakhstan. I hold an MA in Public Policy and BA in political science/international relations from Nazarbayev University. I currently work as a researcher and program coordinator at PaperLab Public Policy Research Centre based in Astana. Recently, I also was a non-resident fellow at the Eurasia Lab Program of the Institute of European Politics in Berlin, where I, together with PaperLab colleagues, conducted research on civic activism during the covid pandemic in Kazakhstan. As an author for the Central Asian Bureau for Analytical Reporting (Cabar), I was able to do a summer fellowship at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (Rondeli Foundation) where I studied the prospects of intra-regional cooperation between Central Asia and South Caucasus.

My current research interests evolve around national identity of youth and the relationship between civic nationhood and political culture in Kazakhstan. At EUCAM I will focus on these matters with specific attention to the role of minorities in Kazakhstan.

Nigora Fazliddin

EUCAM Research Fellow

Areas of expertise: multimedia journalism, vulnerable communities, and political development

My name is Nigora Fazliddin. I hold a MA degree in international journalism from Tajik University. While I began my career in print media, after interning in the United States, I transitioned from print media to multimedia.

I work as a multimedia journalist and documentarian with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Tajik service known as Radio Ozodi in Dushanbe. I primarily focus on poverty, vulnerable communities such as women, children, refugees and labour migrants. One of my more recent investigative reports detailed the life and activities of a Tajik national who was appointed by the Taliban to be in charge of five Afghan provinces bordering with Tajikistan. Not only did this report receive an award as the best report among the 27 different services of Radio Liberty, but it also was republished by  leading international media, including CNN, VOA, Reuters, France Press.

At EUCAM, I seek to strengthen my research skills by looking through a think tank lens at the topics of my interest as a journalist. My current research focus is on migration of young people from Central Asia to Europe.

Aigerim Kamidola

EUCAM Research Fellow

Areas of expertise: international human rights law, gender and interdisciplinary theory and practices

My name is Aigerim Kamidola. I am an independent consultant in international human rights law. My expertise lies in grassroots advocacy work at national and international levels. Among the recent notable results of these efforts are the repeal of the legal ban on employment of women in over 200 occupations in 2021; withdrawal of the so-called ‘Anti-Gender’ Bill in the Parliament in 2020; repeal of the discriminatory by-laws on so-called ‘gay propaganda’ in 2019; co-developing a sexuality education platform for teenagers in 2021; and provision of legal support on discrimination, freedom of assembly and association cases.

I am a graduate of the Edinburgh Law School and was a Visiting Scholar at the Columbia University Institute for the Study of Human Rights in 2020-2021. My master’s degree is in international human rights policy and practice from the Pedro Arrupe Human Rights Institute, the University of Gothenburg, and the University of Roehampton.

At EUCAM my research interest lies in the field of gender studies and civic engagement.

Nadezhda Tatkalo

EUCAM Research Fellow

Areas of expertise: Regime security, Islamic revival, Foreign policy strategies

My name is Nadezhda Tatkalo. I hold a MA in Political Science from the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University. In 2019, I graduated from the OSCE Academy in Bishkek with an MA in Politics and Security. My work experience encompasses nine years of analytical and research activities at the Institute for Strategic Analysis and Prognosis at the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University, where I currently conduct research on the influence of external actors in Central Asia.

Apart from the Institute’s thematic analyses, my research interests include democratic reform in Kyrgyzstan, including the informal political mechanisms that counter democratisation.

Viktoriya Nem

EUCAM Research Fellow

Areas of expertise: Public policy, Education, Gender studies

My name is Viktoriya Nem, I am a researcher from Kazakhstan. I hold a MA in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at National University of Singapore and a BA in Political Science and International Relations from Nazarbayev University.

Currently I work as a researcher and project coordinator at PaperLab, a public policy research centre based in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. My research interests lie in public policy, education, gender equality, sustainable development.

Gulzada Rysbekova

EUCAM Research Fellow

Areas of expertise: Political science, International security, Geopolitics

My name is Gulzada Rysbekova. I am from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. I studied International Relations at the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University. Over the past year, I have been involved in different projects related to civic education and independent election observation in Kyrgyzstan with the purpose of encouraging citizens to be involved in governance processes.

With the Central Asian media platform Cabar Asia, I recently published an article on the radicalization of feminism in Kyrgystan. My interests lie in the field of political philosophy and international security.