Sagynysh Kopenovna Amirbekova, PhD, is Deputy Director for International Relations at the R.B. Suleimenov Institute of Oriental Studies of the Kazakh National Research Ministrу of Higher Education. She researches the religious and political life of the Middle East and North Africa, in the context of the role of the Arab Spring, as well as radical Islamism and its impact on socio-political and economic processes in Kazakhstan. She has experience implementing research projects at the Institute of Oriental Studies on extremism and radicalism in the Middle East. Her doctoral dissertation focuses on the events of the Arab Spring in the Middle East and North Africa. She has published over 30 works in Kazakhstani and international publications.