SEMINAR- Bakyt Beshimov: Central Asia: Regional Security Problems and the Role of Big Powers, MIT, Nov. 30

SEMINAR- Bakyt Beshimov: Central Asia: Regional Security Problems and the Role of Big Powers, MIT, Nov. 30



You are invited to a seminar in the CIS/SSP sponsored Security 
Challenges in Central Asia Series:

"Central Asia: Regional Security Problems and the Role of Big Powers"
Dr. Bakyt Beshimov
Visiting Researcher, MIT Center for International Studies
November 30, 2010
4-6 PM
E40-496, Lucian Pye Conference Room

Bakyt Beshimov combines extensive experience in education, politics, diplomacy and development. Currently, he is a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University's Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and Visiting Researcher at the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  In April 2010 the National Endowment for Democracy awarded him the prestigious Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellowship. Dr.Beshimov had been selected as top 16 activists, journalists, practitioners, and scholars committed to promoting democracy worldwide among 375 candidates.

In 2007-2010, Dr. Beshimov was the leader of the opposition fraction in the parliament of Kyrgyzstan and the representative of the Kyrgyz parliament in OSCE. In August 2009, he was forced to leave Kyrgyzstan after assassination attempts on his life.  Mr. Beshimov got elected to parliament for the first time in 1998 and since then had been one of the leaders of opposition in Kyrgyzstan.  Mr. Beshimov served as Provost of American University for Central Asia in 2005-2007 and as President of Osh State University in 1992-1996, promoting at both schools a system of liberal arts education.  In 2000-2005, Mr. 
Beshimov served as Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Before that, he played a key role in formulating development policy in Kyrgyzstan as National Manager of the United Nations Ferghana Valley Development Program and of the UNDP Local Initiative for Urban Environment program.

Dr. Beshimov continues being a frequent contributor to international and regional media.  His recently published articles "Kyrgyzstan's Hopes, and Fears"at The Wall Street Journal, "Kyrgyz Democracy's Narrowing Window of Opportunity" at Transitions online magazine, and "Struggle for Central Asia becoming increasingly fierce" at Turkish Weekly Magazine. He had co-authored the books: "The Civic Movements in Kyrgyzstan", Moscow 1991, "Interethnic Relations: practice and problems", Bishkek 1996, in Russian.

Source: Harlene Miller <harlenem@mit.edu>