Professor Rouben Azizian

Professor Rouben Azizian joined CDSS in December 2015 after spending close to 14 years at the US Defense Department's Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS) in Honolulu where he lectured and conducted research on the Asia-Pacific Regional Security Architecture, Diplomacy and Confidence Building, Security Sector Development, as well as US, Russian, Central Asian and Oceania security issues.

Before joining APCSS, Professor Azizian taught at the Department of Political Studies at the University of Auckland in 1994 – 2001.  From 1998 – 2001 he was the President of the Auckland Branch of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs.

Prior to becoming a full-time academic he had an extensive career in the Soviet and later Russian Foreign Service, which included assignments in Nepal (1972-1978) as Attaché and Third Secretary; Sri Lanka (1980-1985) as Second and First Secretary; and New Zealand (1991-1994) as Counsellor and Deputy Chief of Mission. 

Professor Azizian has published several books as well as numerous book chapters, journal articles and working papers on Asia-Pacific security issues.

He is a member of the editorial boards of scholarly journals Asian Politics and Policy, Central Asian Studies, Asia-Pacific Journal of Marine Science and Education and Russia and Asia-Pacific.