Dr. Aijan Sharshenova is the Executive Director at Crossroads Central Asia, a think tank based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. She holds two Master’s degrees in EU and Central Asian Studies and International Studies, along with a PhD in Politics from the University of Leeds. Her research focuses on foreign policy, soft power, democracy promotion, and autocracy diffusion, particularly in Central Asia’s relations with the EU, Russia, and China. She has published extensively and authored a book on EU democracy promotion in Central Asia. Dr. Sharshenova has also worked within the UN on sustainable development.