Dr. Esmira Jafarova

Dr. Esmira Jafarova was appointed as a Board member of the Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center) by the order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on November 1, 2019.

She got her Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Relations and Law from Baku State University in 2000 and a Master of Arts degree in International Relations and European Studies from the Central European University (CEU) in Budapest, Hungary. Esmira Jafarova obtained her Ph.D. degree in Political Sciences from the University of Vienna, Austria. Her dissertation topic was “Achieving Security and Stability in the Region of South Caucasus – what role for international organizations? Study on the role and effectiveness of the UN, the OSCE, the CIS, and the EU in the facilitation of the conflict resolution in South Caucasus“. She was a Visiting Scholar at the Harriman Institute of Columbia University, in the city of New York, the United States, from January-August, 2014.

Dr. Jafarova also attended vocational training at Vienna Diplomatic Academy (Vienna, Austria, February-April, 2002), George Marshall Center for Security Policy (Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, February-March, 2003), Geneva Center for Security Policy (Geneva, Switzerland October, 2004-May, 2005) and North East South Asia Center Senior Executive Seminar (Washington D.C., February 2015).

From 2001 to 2016 Esmira Jafarova held different positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. She served in the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Republic of Austria from 2005-2009 and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United Nations during Azerbaijan’s membership in the UN Security Council from 2012-2013, where she was in charge of the Middle East portfolio. She was appointed as a Head of the NATO/ Partnership for Peace Division of the Department of Politico-Military Issues in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2014.

Dr. Jafarova served as an Assistant Professor of Political Sciences at ADA University from 2016-2017. During her stay at ADA University she taught courses on “Foreign Policy Analysis”, “Diplomacy and Foreign Policy”, “EU Foreign Policy”, “Global Governance”, “Conflict Resolution”, and “International Relations Theories”.

She was later appointed as a Head of the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Energy in 2017. In August 2018 she became the Adviser to the Minister of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan on international issues.

Dr. Jafarova has authored a number of peer-reviewed articles, and academic publications, including her book “Conflict Resolution in South Caucasus: Challenges to International Efforts” published by Lexington Books (Rowman and Littlefield) in 2015.