Dauren Aben is a senior research fellow at the Eurasian Research Institute. He holds a Master’s in International Relations from Kainar University, Almaty, Kazakhstan, and a Master’s in International Policy Studies and certificates in nonproliferation studies, conflict resolution, and commercial diplomacy from the California-based Monterey Institute of International Studies. Dauren previously worked as a senior project manager and researcher at the Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education.

In 2011-2014, he worked as a senior research fellow at the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In 2008-2010, Dauren supervised accreditation and ranking activities at the al-Farabi Kazakh National University. In 2003-2009, he served as the program coordinator and executive director of the Almaty office of the Monterey Institute’s James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, whose monthly newsletter International Export Control Observer he co-edited.

Dauren’s research interests cover various aspects of regional security in Central Asia and the Caucasus, as reflected in a number of academic papers. He also serves as an expert advising the Government of Kazakhstan on nuclear nonproliferation, nuclear security, and export controls.