Russia’s War in Ukraine and the impact on Global South

Misba Bhatti (Moderator)

Misba Bhatti is the Research Analyst at CIRS. As such, she supports the Executive Director in carrying out research for the Center and identifies critical gaps in the scholarship where CIRS can engage in new research. She is also responsible for maintaining CIRS research presence online, as well as generating background research output for the Center’s projects. She previously worked as the Administrative Coordinator at the Center. Her publications include, “Highly Skilled Female Pakistani Immigrants: Devalued Credentials,” in Beyond Economic Migration: Social, Historical, and Political Factors in US Immigration, ed. Min Zhou and Hasan Mahmud, (New York University Press, 2023), “COVID Restrictions and Sectarian Tensions in the Middle East by Misba Bhatti.” CIRS Online Brief, (2020), “Asymmetric impact of COVID-19 on employment in the GCC.” CIRS Online Brief, (2020).

Jonathan Fulton

Jonathan Fulton is an Associate Professor of Political Science in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and a nonresident senior fellow for Middle East Programs and the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council. His books include China’s Relations with the Gulf Monarchies, External Power and the Gulf Monarchies, Regions in the Belt and Road Initiative, Routledge Handbook of China-Middle East Relations, and Asian Perceptions of Gulf Security. He has published over 30 journal articles, book chapters and reports, and dozens of op-eds and analytical pieces. His analysis has been featured in global media outlets like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and the BBC. He is also the host of the Atlantic Council’s popular China-MENA Podcast and publishes The China-MENA Newsletter.

Nygmet Ibadildin

Nygmet Ibadildin is an Assistant Professor and Chair of the Department of International Relations and Regional Studies at KIMEP University in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where he has been a faculty member since 2011. He specializes in the political economy of resource-rich states, with a particular focus on Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Throughout his academic career, he has taught an extensive range of subjects including International Relations, Political Science, Human Development, Central Asian Politics, and Energy Politics. He is a recognized scholar in the field of political science with a particular interest in sustainability, natural resource management, and governance in post-Soviet states. He has contributed to numerous publications, including book chapters and articles on political participation, nomadism, and the transformation of social contracts in Kazakhstan. He has been involved in executive training programs with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), contributing to peace and governance capacity-building initiatives in Central Asia. In addition to his academic work, he has extensive experience in media and journalism. He has served as an editor for The Globe newspaper and The Energy of Kazakhstan magazine, and he regularly provides commentary on economic, political, and social issues to both Kazakh and international media outlets.

Leonid Issaev

Leonid Issaev is a Professor at the Department for Politics and International Relations and Vice Director of the Center for Stability and Risks Analysis at the HSE University. He is also the Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Civilization and Regional Studies of the Institute for African Studies, which is part of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He teaches courses in Islamic political philosophy and political systems and political processes in the Middle East and North Africa. He authored more than 200 academic publications, including such monographs as Federalism in the Middle East, State Reconstruction Projects and the Arab Spring (together with A. Zakharov, Springer, 2021), and Terrorism and Political Contention, Federalism and Decentralization in Africa (together with A. Zakharov, Springer, 2024).

Ariel González Levaggi

Ariel González Levaggi is an Associate Professor and Director of the Center for International Studies (CEI-UCA) at the Department of Political Sciences and International Relations of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina (UCA). He is also an Executive Board Member of the regional think tank CRIES (Coordinadora Regional de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales), Advisory Member of the Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI), and Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS, Washington, D.C.). He was elected Co-Chair of the Section Asia and the Americas at the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) (2023-2025) and Latin America and the Caribbean Member-At-Large at the Global South Caucus for International Studies Executive Committee (2024-2026) of the International Studies Association (ISA). He is the author of two single-author books, Confrontational and Cooperative Regional Orders: Managing Regional Security in World Politics (Routledge, 2020) and Great Power Competition in the Southern Oceans: From the Indo-Pacific to the South Atlantic (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023), in addition to more than 50 articles and book chapters on topics related to Latin American IR and geopolitics publishing in journals such as International Affairs, Third World Quarterly, Strategic Analysis, International Politics and Foro Internacional, among others.

Mandana Tishehyar

Mandana Tishehyar teaches at the Department of Indian Studies, Faculty of World Studies, at the University of Tehran. Her research interests include Indian studies, international political economy, geopolitics, Iran’s neighborhood policy, and future studies. From 2001 to 2006, she was a member of the Foreign Policy Committee at Iran’s Parliament Research Centre and later served as a member of the Institute of Strategic Studies in Tehran (2008-2010). She was the Acting Director of the Institute of Iran and Eurasia Studies (IRAS) from 2013 to 2015 and served as the Director of the bi-annual journal International Politics. Additionally, she is a member of the Central Eurasia Program (CEP) at the International Research Centre, University of Tehran. From 2013 until 2022, Tishehyar was the Director of International Academic Cooperation at Allameh Tabataba’i University (ATU), where she also teaches in the Department of Regional Studies at the ECO College. In 2021, Tishehyar was appointed Head of the Board of Directors at the Iranian Peace Studies Scientific Association (IPSAN).