
About the Author
Zaur Shiriyev has more than 10 years of experience in academia and think-tanks, with expertise in security, conflict resolution and foreign policy issues pertaining to the South Caucasus region. He was an Academy Robert Bosch Fellow with the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House from February to November 2015.
He joined the International Crisis Group as an analyst in February 2018. Prior to this, he was coordinator of the PeaCE programme, aimed at strengthening and re-engaging Azerbaijani civil society and youth (from geographic areas affected by the Nagorny Karabakh conflict) in peacebuilding activities. He was a senior research fellow at ADA University, Baku, from May 2014 to March 2017. Previously, he worked as a leading research fellow at the Center for Strategic Studies (SAM) from 2009 to 2014 in Baku, at the Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies in Istanbul, and at the International Strategic Research Organization in Ankara.
He has authored academic articles as well as a wide range of policy briefings and papers relating to Azerbaijan’s foreign and security policies. This research paper was written before the author joined the International Crisis Group.