I am a political scientist analyzing domestic, regional, inter-governmental, and global political affairs. My research currently focuses on topics in environmental issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, energy transition, and water management, employing socio-political concepts for analysis.

I am open to exploring diverse methodological tools and their complementarity and strive to develop methods of responding effectively to prominent issues in our contemporary world. I am particularly interested in the state-society relationship that helps to understand and resolve the issues of balancing of state security and social inclusiveness. This inquiry led me to conduct research on underrepresented communities and weak/fragile states in our political history both at the national and international level along with their relations with external powers. Moreover, my research and practice put great emphasis on interconnectivity, interactive communication, education, and cooperation. For this reason, I have traveled a number of countries across the globe while being engaged in various inter-governmental research projects during my-time as an educator and researcher in academia since 2013.

Before I joined the UNNC as an Associate Professor in 2022, I held academic positions at Lingnan University in Hong Kong SAR as an Assistant Professor (non-tenure track) and as an Associate Professor (tenured) at KIMEP University in Almaty Kazakhstan. Further, I was an adjunct professor at CNAM (Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers) Paris (2010-2013), and a visiting professor at University of Seoul (2019 and 2022 summer), teaching courses such as ‘Urban Studies: Climate Change in Cities’ and ‘Sustainable Norms and Management’.       

In addition to holding a Ph.D. in Political Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science, I completed an M.Phil. in Environmental Policy at the University of Cambridge UK. After obtaining my doctoral degree, I wanted to train myself in an international setting to learn about the present mechanisms of International Relations and the practice of international public policy making. I acquired invaluable experience while working as a practitioner (consultant, policy analyst and senior researcher) at the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) in Paris where I predominantly worked in the field of environment and developmental assistance. Thanks to my previous experience in the inter-governmental cooperation, I continue to be engaged in the global environmental policy field. For example, I have been an invited as a key expert for the EU-funded projects such as ‘EU low carbon action in the Republic of Korea’ (2022) and ‘mapping low-carbon stakeholders in Korea and opportunities for cooperation with the EU countries’ (2016).

My recent research outputs encompass nuclear energy policy, comparative analysis on denuclearization, and political communication through cinema. The titles of my most recent or forthcoming publications include:

‘Eco-nuclear’ energy transformation? Authoritarian environmentalism and regulatory policy in China’ Journal of Asian and African Studies (forthcoming). Co-authored with Dahoon Chung.

‘Statism as a Lifestyle: Deciphering society in films on North Korea and evolving communication through cinema’, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 23(3): 408-425.

‘Sovereignty and Trading States: Denuclearization in Belarus, Kazakhstan, South Africa, and Ukraine’, International Relations 36(3): 480-503. Co-authored with Dahoon Chung

Currently, I am co-authoring a book on regionalism in Central Asia (contracted with Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming 2023).

Field of expertise:    

• Global environmental policy
• Nuclear politics
• Political communication in foreign affairs     

Research collaboration including potential Ph.D. students 

Research topics related to the environment and sustainable development are mostly welcome for discussion (any cases in Asia, Europe and North America).    

Current teaching:

Introduction to Comparative Politics (co-teaching)  

Previous teaching: 

Undergraduate

• Social and Political Theory
• Ecology, Society, and the Environment
• Urban Studies: Climate Change in Cities
• Regional Cooperation in the Asia and the Pacific

Postgraduate

• Theories of International Relations
• Environmental Norms and Sustainable Management
• Environmental Politics and Global Governance
• Political Communication in International Affairs
• Asian Security: Theory and Practice