Experience:
Baktybek Beshimov is a faculty member in the Global Studies and International Relations program and Professor of the Practice at Northeastern University. He combines extensive experience in international diplomacy, politics, education, and development.
In diplomacy, Dr. Beshimov served as ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh. He was the representative of the Kyrgyzstan Parliament in the Organisation for Security and Economic Cooperation in Europe.
In development and conflict prevention, he played a crucial role in formulating development policy in Central Asia as national manager of the United Nations Ferghana Valley Development Program and the UNDP LIFE program in the 1990s.
In politics, Dr. Beshimov was twice elected to the parliament of Kyrgyzstan, where he served as leader of the opposition fraction and parliament representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
In education, Dr. Beshimov served as provost/vice president for academic affairs of the American University in Central Asia and President of Osh State University.
In 2010, the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy awarded Dr. Beshimov the prestigious Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellowship. In 2010-2015, he was a visiting professor at Harvard University’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, at MIT’s Center for International Studies, and Suffolk University’s Government Department.
Dr. Beshimov is the author of four books, including Ferghana Valley: The Heart of Central Asia, and a frequent contributor to international media. His articles have been published in the Wall Street Journal, Transitions Online, and the Diplomat Magazine, Asia Times, Al Jazeera, and Open Democracy.