Eurasia Outlook 2019: Economic, Social and Political Perspectives in Eurasia
Since 2015, the Eurasian Research Institute (ERI) has been presenting to the readers weekly e-bulletins that contain current economic, political, cultural, and social developments in the Eurasian region. Over the past five years, many experts, diplomats, politicians, as well as ordinary readers from Turkey, Kazakhstan, and other Eurasian countries have appreciated analytical materials that are written by our experts and external contributors. The ERI appeals not only to the academic community but also to large audiences in related fields through the studies conducted by properly evaluating the advantage of being in the heart of the region. Thus, we provide decision-makers with different views on related issues, making valuable contributions to Eurasian studies.
In 2019, there were significant developments in Eurasia, especially in the economic and political fields. The implemented and planned projects for the development of transportation infrastructure due to the region’s advantageous location along the transport and transit corridors are among the prominent ones. Although the trade wars between the United States and China had global consequences that negatively affected the economies outside these two countries, implications on the Eurasian countries were not as negative as expected. On the contrary, it can be said that this tension between the United States and China positively affected the economic growth rates of the countries in Eurasia. In this regard, it is critical for the ERI to present its readers with deep and informative prospects in the fields of economy, politics, culture, and society within the weekly e-bulletin analyses.
Vakur Sumer
Director
Assoc. Prof. Vakur Sumer has received his Ph.D. on International Relations, from Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey. He is a faculty member at Department of International Relations, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey. He has worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the Global Research Institute at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, NC, USA, and as a visiting scholar at the Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California-Davis, CA, USA. Sumer has been a researcher at Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg, Germany in 2012.
Zhengizkhan Zhanaltay
Deputy Director
Zhengizkhan Zhanaltay is a research fellow in the Eurasian Research Institute at H.A.Yassawi Kazakh Turkish International University. Zhengizkhan completed his bachelor’s degree at international relations department of KIMEP University in 2010. He completed his master thesis named ‘Oralmans integration into Kazakhstani Society: Turkish Kazakh Case’ in International Relations department of KIMEP University in 2014. His research interests include international migration politics, labor and ethnic migrants social and economic integration into society and remittance.
Suat Beylur
Director
Suat Beylur holds a PhD degree in Sociology from Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, as well as an MA in International Relations from Hacettepe University. Prior to joining the Eurasian Research Institute of Khoja Akhmet Yassawi International Turkish-Kazakh University, Beylur has worked as a specialist, director and adviser for the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism (YTB). Beylur’s research interests lie primarily in the areas of social and cultural change, youth and religion-state relations in the post-Soviet Space and the Balkans, as well as Turkey’s diaspora.
Dauren Aben
Senior Research fellow
Dauren Aben holds a Master’s in International Relations from Kainar University, Almaty, Kazakhstan, and a Master’s in International Policy Studies and certificates in nonproliferation studies, conflict resolution, and commercial diplomacy from the California-based Monterey Institute of International Studies. Dauren previously worked as a senior project manager and researcher at the Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education. In 2011-2014, he worked as a senior research fellow at the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In 2008-20