Baktybek Beshimov, PhD

Visiting Professor
Department of Government

Phone: 617-573-8506
Fax: 617-367-4623
Office: 73 Tremont St., Rm. 1039
Email: bbeshimov@suffolk.edu
Curriculum Vitae

Education

  • PhD, Kyrgyz State University
  • MA, Kyrgyz State University
  • BA, Kyrgyz State University

Biography

Bakyt Beshimov combines extensive experience in education, politics, diplomacy, and development. In 2010, he was awarded the Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellowship by the National Endowment for Democracy. Currently, he is a visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for International Studies. He was awarded a Scholar Rescue Fund Fellowship, and was offered a position as a Visiting Scholar at Harvard’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies.

In August 2009, Beshimov fled Kyrgyzstan after an assassination attempt on his life. From 2007 to 2010, he was the leader of the opposition fraction in the parliament of Kyrgyzstan. He had been elected to parliament for the first time in 1998, and had since been one of the leaders of the opposition in the country. Beshimov promoted a model of liberal education as vice president/provost of American University for Central Asia, and as president of Osh State University. He served as Kyrgyzstan’s Ambassador to India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh. As a National Manager of the United Nations Fergana Valley Development Program and the UNDP Local Initiative for Urban Environment, Beshimov played a key role in formulating development policy in Kyrgyzstan.

Beshimov is a frequent contributor to international media. He has been a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Central Asia and the Caucasus (Sweden) since 1994. He is the author of three books in Russian, as well as numerous articles on politics and interethnic relations in Central Asia and Kyrgyzstan.

Recent Publications

  • "The Fergana Valley – the Heart of Central Asia." Starr, Frederick, Bakyt Beshimov, Inomjon Bobokulov, and Pulat Zhozimov, eds., New York: M. E.Sharpe, 2011.
  • "US-Russia Rivalry and Security Dilemma in Central Asia." The Journal of Turkish Weekly, 15 December 2011.
  • "Kyrgyzstan’s hopes and fears." With Sam Patten in The Wall Street Journal, October 4, 2010.
  • "Kyrgyz democracy’s narrowing window of opportunity." Transitions Online, October 8, 2010.
  • "Struggle for Central Asia becoming increasingly fierce." The Journal of Turkish Weekly, July 19, 2010.
  • "Referendum Risks Escalating Violence in Kyrgyzstan." With Martha Brill Olcott at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace website, June 24, 2010.

Courses Taught

At Suffolk University, Beshimov teaches "International Law and International Organizations," "Contemporary International Relations," and "State Building and International Intervention."