Dr. Aksana Ismailbekova

Research Fellow in Social Anthropology

Specializing in kinship, ethnicity, patronage, conflict, and gender studies in Central Asia, particularly Kyrgyzstan. Currently a research fellow at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO) in Berlin, Germany.

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About

Dr. Aksana Ismailbekova is a distinguished Senior Research Fellow at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO) in Berlin, Germany, where she has been conducting groundbreaking research since 2020. Her work focuses on migration, ethnicity, kinship, and informal governance in Central Asia and beyond, with particular expertise in Kyrgyzstan and the broader post-Soviet region.

With over 15 years of intensive fieldwork experience across Central Asia, Dr. Ismailbekova has conducted research in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Russia. She is a polyglot scholar, fluent in seven languages including Kyrgyz, Russian, English, German, Uzbek, Kazakh, and Turkish, which enables her to conduct research across diverse linguistic and cultural contexts.

Dr. Ismailbekova has secured over €200,000 in competitive research funding and has authored two monographs, including the acclaimed "Blood Ties and the Native Sons: Poetics of Patronage in Kyrgyzstan" (Indiana University Press, 2017). She actively supervises PhD and MA students across multiple universities and has been recognized with prestigious international fellowships, including an upcoming Humboldt Fellowship at UC Santa Barbara (2026-2028).

As an academic leader, she organizes international conferences, serves as a reviewer for leading anthropological journals, and teaches courses on anthropology of Islam, migration, gender, and economic anthropology at universities in Germany, Kyrgyzstan, and beyond. Her research bridges academic scholarship with contemporary policy concerns, particularly in areas of informal governance, corruption, and social transformations in post-socialist societies.

Education

PhD in Social Anthropology (2012)

Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg & Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology

MA in Social Research of Social and Political Studies (2006)

University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

BA in Cultural Anthropology (2005)

American University – Central Asia, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Current Highlights

Upcoming Fellowships

Humboldt Fellowship, UC Santa Barbara (2026-2028)
Hokkaido University Fellowship (2025)
Newcastle University-Leibniz Fellowship (2025)

Languages

Native: Kyrgyz, Russian
Excellent: English
Very Good: German, Uzbek, Kazakh
Good: Turkish

Research Interests

Kinship & Patronage Systems

Analysis of traditional and contemporary kinship networks and their role in political and social organization, with particular focus on Central Asia and post-Soviet societies.

Ethnicity & Conflict Resolution

Investigation of ethnic dynamics and mechanisms for conflict resolution in diverse societies, including post-conflict community strategies and social resilience.

Gender Studies

Examination of gender roles, women's experiences, and social change in Central Asian contexts, with particular attention to gender and Islam, single mothers, and family strategies.

Informal Governance

Study of informal political structures, corruption patterns, and their intersection with formal institutions, including digital technologies and e-informality.

Migration Studies

Analysis of migration patterns, transnational communities, and migrant experiences, including research on Central Asian migrants in Russia and transnational practices.

Professional Experience

Research Fellow

Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), Berlin

January 2020 - Present

Postdoctoral Researcher

Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology

Researcher

Bonn International Center for Conversion

Publications

Monographs

"Blood Ties and the Native Sons: Poetics of Patronage in Kyrgyzstan"

2017 | Bloomington: Indiana University Press | A comprehensive analysis of patronage networks and their cultural significance in Kyrgyzstan.

"Mobilizing Kinship for Care, Welfare, and Development in Kyrgyzstan"

Forthcoming | Culture and Society in Central Eurasia series, Berghahn Books | Exploring kinship networks in development and welfare contexts.

Editorial Volumes

"Surviving Everyday Life. The securityscapes of threatened people in Kyrgyzstan"

2020 | Together with Marc von Boemcken, et al. Bristol: Bristol University Press | An examination of security challenges and survival strategies in contemporary Kyrgyzstan.

"Negotiating Multiple Senses of the Future and Belonging in Kyrgyzstan"

2014 | Together with Jeanne Féaux de la Croix. Anthropology of East Europe Review, 32(2), 1–16 | Analysis of future orientations and belonging in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan.

Recent Peer-Reviewed Articles

"Japarov and Tashiev in Tandem: the Pursuit of Money and Power"

2024 | Anthropology Today. 40 (6):11-14 | Analysis of contemporary political dynamics and power structures in Kyrgyzstan.

"The 'Stolen Revolution': 'Progressive' and 'conservative' forces of the contemporary political context of Kyrgyzstan"

2024 | Central Asian Affairs. 11(2) 99–128 | Examination of political tensions and ideological divisions in modern Kyrgyzstan.

"Native Son Japarov: The Embodiment of Injustice?"

2021 | Anthropology Today. Vol 37 (5):1/4 | Analysis of political leadership and justice narratives in Kyrgyzstan.

"From Endogamous Marriage to Ethnicity: Uzbek Community Survival Strategy After the 2010 Conflict in Osh"

2019 | Anthropology & Archeology of Eurasia, 58:3, 134-154 | Research on ethnic community strategies and social resilience post-conflict.

"Mapping lineage leadership in Kyrgyzstan: lineage associations and informal governance"

2018 | Zeitschrift für Ethnologie. 143: 195-219 | Study of kinship networks and their role in political organization.

"Single Mothers in Osh: Well-being and coping strategies of women in the aftermath of the 2010 conflict in Kyrgyzstan"

2015 | Focaal. Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology. 71: 114–127 | Research on gender, conflict, and resilience in post-conflict societies.

Selected Book Chapters

"Daughters as Ojiza: Marriage, Security and Care strategies for daughters among Uzbeks in Southern Kyrgyzstan"

2023 | In Féaux de la Croix, Jeanne and Madeleine Reeves. Central Asian Worlds. The Routledge Handbook. Routledge, p173-187 | Analysis of gender roles and family strategies in Central Asian contexts.

"Lineage Associations and Informal Politics in: Mapping Kyrgyz Leadership"

2022 | Central Asia: Contexts for Understanding. Ed. D. Montgomery. pp606-610 Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press | Examination of kinship-based political networks.

"Informal Governance, 'Clan' politics and Corruption"

2021 | Edited by Rico Isaacs, Erica Marat. Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Central Asia. London: Routledge Pp 87-100 | Analysis of informal political structures and corruption patterns.

Recent Joint Articles

"Transferring Deceased Bodies, Building Transnational Communities. The Case of Kyrgyz and Tajik Migrants in Russia"

2023 | Cleuziou Juliette and Ismailbekova, Aksana. Revue européenne des migrations internationales, vol. 39 - n°1, 77-100 | Study of migration, death practices, and community building.

"E-informality: smartphones as a new regulatory space for informal exchange of formal resources"

2022 | Ismailbekova, Aksana and Gulzat Baialieva. Informality and Mobility. Pp 321-341 London: Palgrave Macmillan | Analysis of digital technologies and informal governance.