The CECPSR is pleased to welcome Dr. Jessica Neafie as a new member of the Advisory Board of the Eurasian Research on Modern China and Eurasia Conference. She has actively contributed to the V & VI edition of the Conference and continues to collaborate with members of the international research network. She contributed to the Routledge Handbook of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Eurasia (2025) with the chapter “Multipolarity, the Rise of China, and Kazakhstan’s Emergence as a Middle Power.” 

Jessica Neafie is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Nazarbayev University (Kazakhstan), where she also serves as Director of Undergraduate Studies. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Oregon and advanced degrees in climate science and diplomatic studies. Her research focuses on China’s foreign policy, multipolarity, middle-power strategies, and energy and environmental governance in Eurasia. She has published widely in leading international journals, including the Journal of Chinese Political Science, International Politics, Environmental Research Letters, and Area Development and Policy. Her work combines survey research, quantitative methods, and field research to examine how regional actors navigate shifting global power dynamics in Central Asia and beyond.

For more about the forthcoming VII Eurasian Research on Modern China and Eurasia Conference, please click:

CFP: VII Eurasian Research on Modern China and Eurasia Conference, December 4-5, 2026