Bio: Khasan is a PhD candidate in Political Science in the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a Predoctoral Fellow at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. Khasan’s research focuses on comparative politics, political economy of development, governance and public accountability in non-democratic regimes, social policy, and redistribution, with an empirical focus on postcommunist Eurasia. In his works, Khasan employs archival research, immersive fieldworks, original surveys and interviews, and content analysis in addition to experimental research designs. Khasan co-founded and is a co-principal investigator at two long-term and externally funded collaborative research projects: Local Economic and Administrative Performance (LEAP) in Central Asia and Interdisciplinary Central Asia Politics, History and Economics (ICAPHE) Research Lab. Both projects proudly employ and train junior Central Eurasia scholars. Since 2023, Khasan has served the Central Eurasian Studies Society on two committees. Khasan’s works were generously funded by the Institute for Humane Studies, Harriman Institute and Carnegie Corporation NY, Wisconsin Russia Project, Mosse Program in History, ASEEES, APSA, and others. 

Statement of views: CESS is a truly remarkable organization. It is young yet strong. I believe CESS derives its strengths through engaging with the record number of scholars from the region to which it is dedicated and having a dedicated corps of committed members in North America who helped CESS be and flourish. Its diversity in academic fields, analytical approaches, theories, and professional and personal experiences of members are all its advantages. I believe strongly that we can build on those strengths and engage better with the younger generation of scholars and to-be scholars, aiding them in their preferred scholarly and career choices. We can help improve commitment to research access and collaboration, empowering scholarly exchanges and the highest quality of research output. Moreover, I believe we can usher CESS into an even more successful future in four ways. First, as our regions and countries of interest grapple with lingering political challenges, freedom restrictions, and local funding shortages, and as human subject research becomes more popular, we need to emphasize and train ourselves better in academic freedom, access, and ethical standards. Second, we need to improve fundraising, helping make CESS more independent and sustainable. Third, we need to listen to our members more, communicate with them better, and serve our communities in smarter ways, from hosting online meetings on curriculum development and field research to talking about Central Eurasia and CESS more at local public schools and to all interested parties. Fourth, and this one is close to my heart as my own field, we need to recruit more members among social scientists and reconceptualize what Central Eurasia is and how we study it in all CESS’s diverse ways.