Research areas:
Water security
Transboundary water conflict and cooperation
Environmental governance
Resilience and climate adaptation
Sustainable development
My research is interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary, integrating insights from public policy, economics, and environmental sciences, and engaging with practitioners and stakeholders beyond academia. I employ a mixed-methods approach, including meta-analysis, interviews, surveys, and field-based research.
(selective)
SDGnexus Network Project (2025–2029), PI at NU — DAAD–BMZ (Germany)
Social Policy Grant (2025–2026), PI — Nazarbayev University (Kazakhstan)
Flexible Funds: Field Data Collection (2025), PI — ZEU, Justus Liebig University Giessen (Germany)
Early Career Researcher Grant (2022–2023), PI — Justus Liebig University Giessen (Germany)
PhD Scholarship (2018–2022) — Ministry of Education and Science (Kazakhstan)
Assubayeva, A., Xenarios, S., Correa, A., & Forero, J. (2025). Transdisciplinary research on water security in transboundary river basins. iScience, 113944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.113944
Alamanos, A., Xenarios, S., Assubayeva, A., Landis, C. F. M., Dellis, K., & Koundouri, P. (2025). Systems-thinking innovations for water security. Frontiers in Water, 6, 1492698. https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2024.1492698
Abdullaev, I., Assubayeva, A., Bobojonov, I., Djanibekov, N., Dombrowsky, I., Gafurov, A., ... & Ziganshina, D. (2025). Current challenges in Central Asian water governance and their implications for research, higher education, and science-policy interaction. Central Asian Journal of Water Research, 11(1), 47-58. https://doi.org/10.29258/CAJWR/2025-R1.v11-1/47-58.eng
Hermans, K., Djanibekov, N., Abdullaev, I., Abduvalieva, N., Assubayeva, A., Blondin, S., ... & Umirbekov, A. (2024). Future research directions for understanding the interconnections between climate change, water scarcity, and mobility in rural Central Asia. Climate and Development, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2024.2436090
Assubayeva, A. & Marco, J. (2024). Methodological Approaches on Synergies and Trade-offs within the 2030 Agenda, iScience, 111100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.111100
Assubayeva, A. (2023). Review of uncertainties in water security decision-making in Central Asia. OSCE Academy in Bishkek. Research Paper #12, 1-17. https://osce-academy.net/upload/file/rp_12_final.pdf
Assubayeva, A., Xenarios, S., Li, A., & Fazli, S. (2022). Assessing water security in Central Asia through a Delphi method and a clustering analysis. Front. Environ. Sci. 10:970633. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.970633
Assubayeva, A. (2021). Experts ’ Perceptions of Water Security in Central Asia: results from a Delphi study. Central Asian Journal of Water Research 7(1), 50–69. https://doi.org/10.29258/CAJWR/2021-R1.v7-1/50-69.eng
Xenarios, S., Assubayeva, A., Xie, L., Sehring, J., Amirkhanov, D., Sultanov, A., and Fazli, S. (2020). A bibliometric review of the water security concept in Central Asia. Environmental Research Letters, Volume 16, Number 1, 013001. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abc717/meta
(available upon request)
Assubayeva, A. & Sehring, J. (2024). Water Management. In: Mayer, S., Lempp, J. (eds) The EU as an Actor in Central Asia. Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51354-1_10
Sehring, J., Sharipova, B., & Assubayeva, A. (2024). The politics of water governance in Central Asia: institutionalizing river basin management”. Chapter 15 In Handbook on the Governance and Politics of Water Resources. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800887909.00024
Xenarios, S., Sehring, J., Assubayeva, A., Schmidt-Vogt, D., Abdullaev, I., & Araral, E. (2019). Water Security Assessments in Central Asia: Research and Policy Implications. In Water Insecurity and Sanitation in Asia (pp. 358). Asian Development Bank. https://www.adb.org/publications/water-insecurity-and-sanitation-asia
Assubayeva, A., Sharipova, B., Mirumachi, N., & Everitt, L. (2024). The United Nations 2023 Water Conference: Lessons from the Aral Sea Basin. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-173
Assubayeva, A. (2023). Water sector financing in Kazakhstan. CAREC Institute. March 2023. https://www.carecinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Policy-Brief_Water-sector-financing-in-Kazakhstan.pdf