Nicholas Awde

Nicholas Awde is a Serbian-American author who has written more than two dozen books on Turkish, Russian, Persian, and Middle Eastern cultures, histories, and current events. He is a respected expert on topics ranging from the Caucasus and Central Asia to Middle Eastern culture and Islam.

Born in 1957 in Belgrade, Serbia (then Yugoslavia), Awde has spent most of his life living, studying, and traveling around the world. Educated at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, he has studied language, culture and politics of the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Caucasus at universities in Azerbaijan, Serbia, and Turkey. In addition, he has conducted field research in many countries, including Iran, Iraq, and Azerbaijan.

Some of Awde’s most well-known works include Oil and the Transformation of Azerbaijan: How Contracts are Rewriting the Rules of the Game (2019), Marriage and Divorce Laws in Central Asia (2017), and The Hanafi Legal School (2018). He has also co-authored A Practical Guide to Contemporary Russia (2002) with Nikolai Pavlov and Stephanie Sandler, and two editions of a popular travel book for Lonely Planet, titled Central Asia.

Besides his books, Awde has been a prolific writer for various journals and magazines, such as Central Asia and the Caucasus, Current History, and Harvard International Review. His writings cover topics from energy geopolitics to politics in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. He has also contributed to series’ like the Four Corners of the World, which explores globalization and transnationalism.

In addition to his published works, Awde is also a frequent speaker at conferences and events, as well as a university lecturer. He is a highly sought-after expert on topics related to the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Middle Eastern culture, having held positions at several Universities, including Columbia University and New York University.

Awde is the recipient of several awards, including the prestigious International New York Times Award for Best Specialist Writing, the Fulbright Euro-Asia Scholar Award, and the Charles E. Wilson Fellowship Award. His educational background and expertise allow him to bring an informed and sophisticated perspective to complicated geopolitical challenges in Central Asia and the Middle East.

An avid traveler and passionate scholar of the region, Nicholas Awde is one of the foremost experts on the culture, history and politics of the Middle East and Central Asia. His books and writings offer both an in-depth insight into the complexities of this region, as well as a comprehensive overview of the many topics at play.