SOAS University of London

Centre of Contemporary Central Asia & the Caucasus

CCCAC Members

Chair of Centre

Dr Scott Newton

Centres and Programmes Office
James Caron
Academic Staff, Centre of Contemporary Central Asia and the Caucasus
James Caron

Islam in South Asia; Afghanistan and Pakistan; Indo-Persianate sociocultural history; transnational non-Western history; activism and social movements.

  • Tel: +44 (0)20 7898 4295
  • Email: jc84@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 468
  • Academic Support Hours: Tuesdays 3-5 p.m
Bhavna Davé
Academic Staff, Centre of Contemporary Central Asia and the Caucasus
Bhavna Dave

Kazakhstan: politics of language, ethnicity and nationalism in post-Soviet countries

  • Tel: 020 7898 4734
  • Email: bd4@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 224
  • Academic Support Hours: Thursdays 3-5pm
Jonathan Goodhand
Academic Staff, Centre of Contemporary Central Asia and the Caucasus
Jonathan Goodhand
South and Central Asia; complex political emergencies, humanitarian aid; NGO capacity building, aid, conflict and development
  • Tel: +44 (0)20 7898 4483
  • Email: jg27@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 258
  • Academic Support Hours: Wed 1 - 2 and Thurs 3 - 4
  • On Sabbatical:Full Year (18/19)
Colette Harris
Academic Staff, Centre of Contemporary Central Asia and the Caucasus
Colette Harris

Violence and conflict, governance, post colonial state building, Muslim societies, sexualities, (reproductive) health, migration, and community development/transformative education - all explored through a gendered lens. Central Asia, Latin America but currently focus mainly on West and East Africa.

Rachel Harris
Academic Staff, Centre of Contemporary Central Asia and the Caucasus
Rachel Harris
Ethnomusicology; musics of China and Central Asia, especially Uyghur; recorded music; music and ritual; music, identity and politics
  • Tel: 020 7898 4513
  • Email: rh@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 513
  • Academic Support Hours: Friday 11:30-12:30 or email for an appointment
Peter P Mollinga
Academic Staff, Centre of Contemporary Central Asia and the Caucasus
Peter Mollinga
South Asia, Central Asia; comparative political sociology of water resources and development; technology and agrarian change; boundary work in natural resources management; interdisciplinary social theory.
  • Tel: +44(0) 20 7898 4631
  • Email: pm35@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 4415
  • Academic Support Hours: By appointment
  • On Sabbatical:Terms 2 and 3 (18/19)
Scott Newton
Centre Chair
Scott Newton

Post-Soviet law and legal/institutional reform in Central Asia and CIS; law and development (markets and globalisation in developing and transitional states); law, governance and post-conflict reconstruction; human rights.

  • Tel: +44 (0)20 7898 4658
  • Email: sn21@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: S330
  • Academic Support Hours: Tuesday 14:00 - 16:00
Paolo Novak
Academic Staff, Centre of Contemporary Central Asia and the Caucasus
Paolo Novak

Trans-nationality with particular reference to migration; refugee regime; borders and NGOs.

  • Tel: 020 7898 4214
  • Email: pn4@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: 368
  • Academic Support Hours: Tuesday, 12-2pm
  • On Sabbatical:Terms 2 and 3 (18/19)
Ulrich Pagel
Academic Staff, Centre of Contemporary Central Asia and the Caucasus
Ulrich Pagel

History of Buddhism in Tibet, Mahāyāna Buddhism, Kanjur Studies, Vinaya, Religions of Central Asia, Tibetan, Sanskrit. 

  • Tel: +44 (0)20 7898 4782
  • Email: up1@soas.ac.uk
  • Room: Room 343
  • Academic Support Hours: Mondays 3:00-5:00 p.m

Professorial Research Associates

Deniz Kandiyoti
Professorial Research Associate
Deniz Kandiyoti
Middle East and Central Asia: gender and development; the state and social policy; feminist theory

Research Associates

Laurence Broers
Research Associate
Staff Silhouette

Nationalism and ethnicity in the South Caucasus (with a particular focus on Georgia), the ethno-territorial conflicts of the region, and the politics of conflict resolution and democratization

Anna Larson
Anna Larson

Democratisation in Afghanistan and other conflict-affected states, with a particular focus on gender and democratic institutions (elections, political parties and the legislature). Recently this has included work on the impact of Afghanistan's reserved seats system for women, the way elections shape and are shaped by local political landscapes, the internal dynamics of Afghan national assembly, political party institutionalisation and women's role in parties over time.

  • Email: al46@soas.ac.uk
  • Academic Support Hours: TBC on Moodle (following reading week)