Edward Lemon

Edward Lemon joined the Department of International Affairs in fall 2020 as a Research Assistant Professor. He was previously an Assistant Professor at the Daniel Morgan Graduate School between 2018 and 2020; a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center; and, from 2016 to 2018, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Political Science, Columbia University. Dr. Lemon received his PhD in political science from the University of Exeter (2016).

Dr. Lemon’s research focuses on the transnational dimensions of authoritarianism, including transnational repression and authoritarian regional organizations, with a focus on post-Soviet Central Asia, Russia, and China. He has also conducted research on security issues, including violent extremism and political violence. He has spent over three years conducting research in Tajikistan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan; he speaks Russian and Tajik.

He is editor of the book Critical Approaches to Security in Central Asia (Routledge, 2018). His research has been published in Democratization, Central Asian Affairs, Caucasus Survey, Journal of Democracy, Foreign Affairs, Central Asian Survey, the Review of Middle Eastern Studies, and The RUSI Journal. Dr. Lemon regularly comments on the situation in Central Asia in the media. His views have been featured in The Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Radio Free Europe, among others. He has briefed officials from the State Department, United Nations, USAID, Department of Defense, and Helsinki Commission on his research on Central Asia.