Career
I am a Professor at SDU University (Kazakhstan). Over the past three decades, I have held academic and research positions across Kazakhstan, Japan, Russia, Estonia, and the UK, and led projects in international relations and border studies.
Academic & research appointments
September 2023 – present
Professor, School of Social Sciences, Business, and Law, SDU University
(Kaskelen, Kazakhstan)
September 2022 – August 2023
Professor, Almaty Management University
(Almaty, Kazakhstan)
July 2018 – June 2024
Lead Researcher,
Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO),
Russian Academy of Sciences
(Moscow, Russia)
May 2019 – December 2021
Lead Researcher, Center for Geopolitical Studies,
Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences
(Moscow, Russia)
September 2018 – June 2022
Visiting Professor, School of Government and International Affairs,
MGIMO University
(Moscow, Russia)
April 2015 – March 2018
Professor, Faculty of Law,
Kyushu University
(Fukuoka, Japan)
July 2014 – March 2015
Visiting Professor, Slavic-Eurasian Research Center,
Hokkaido University
(Sapporo, Japan)
August 2012 – March 2014
Research Fellow, Centre for EU-Russian Studies,
University of Tartu
(Tartu, Estonia)
August 2011 – August 2012
Professor, Department of International Relations and Area Studies,
Volgograd State University
(Volgograd, Russia)
August 2009 – August 2011
Marie Curie Research Fellow, International Boundaries Research Unit,
Durham University
(Durham, UK)
September 1998 – August 2009
Teaching Assistant → Assistant Professor → Associate Professor,
Department of Area Studies & International Relations,
Volgograd State University
(Volgograd, Russia)
Education & Degrees
2009 Doctor of Political Sciences (equivalent to Habilitation)
(defense: Dec 2008; degree awarded: Jun 2009)
Defended at: Nizhny Novgorod State University · Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
Awarded by: Higher Attestation Commission of the Russian Federation
Dissertation: “Security as a Factor in Russia’s and Kazakhstan’s Policies toward Their Shared Border” [in Russian]
1998 Candidate of Historical Sciences (PhD equivalent)
(defense: Apr 2008)
Defended at: Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences · Moscow, Russia
Dissertation: “Islam in the Commonwealth of Independent States in Western Public and Scholarly Thought”
1995 Specialist Diploma with Honors, History
(5-year program; generally comparable to Master’s level)
Volgograd State University ·
Volgograd, Russia
Last projects
2024–26 (team project; Principal Investigator)
Topic: “Cross-border cooperation of Kazakhstan
with neighboring Central Asian countries”
Institutional support: Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan
2019–21 (team project; Contributor)
Topic: “Post-Soviet Non-Recognized States:
Factors of Viability and Risks for Russia”
Institutional support: Russian Science Foundation
2015–16 (individual project)
Topic: “Russian Tourism to Japan: the Impact of a Border Barrier”
Institutional support: Kyushu University
Professional service
January 2026 – present
Member of the Editorial Board of Alternative: Global, Local, Political
(Sage Publications)
2022 – 2024
Expert Reviewer for the Russian Science Foundation
(Москва, Россия)
2022 – 2023
Expert Reviewer for the National Center of Science and Technology Evaluation
(Almaty, Kazakhstan)
© 2026 Sergei Golunov. All rights reserved.