Independent scholar based in Almaty (Kazakhstan), a faculty member at Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Suleyman Demirel University in Almaty and a non-residential research fellow at the Rethink Institute, Washington, DC. Zhussipbek received his PhD degree in 2008 and MA in 2001, Bachelor Degree in 1998 from Ankara University, Faculty of Political Science, Department of International Relations. Zhussipbek's main research interests are the European security, security of the post-Soviet area, social and religious situation in Central Asia, liberalism, Islam and democracy, state-religion relations.