Dr. Roger Kangas is the Academic Dean and a Professor of Central Asian Studies at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies. Previously Dr. Kangas served as a Professor of Central Asian Studies at the George C. Marshall Center for European Security in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany; Deputy Director of the Central Asian Institute at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC; Central Asian Course Coordinator at the Foreign Service Institute for the U.S. Department of State; Research Analyst on Central Asian Affairs for the Open Media Research Institute (OMRI) in Prague, Czech Republic; and as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Mississippi.

Dr. Kangas has been an advisor to the Combatant Commands, NATO/ISAF, the US Air Force Special Operations School, National Democratic Institute, International Research and Exchanges Board, American Councils, Academy for Educational Development, USIA, USAID, and other US government agencies on issues relating to Central and South Asia, Russia, and the South Caucasus. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University. Dr. Kangas holds a B.S.F.S. in Comparative Politics from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Indiana University.

Education
• Ph.D., Political Science, Indiana University
• B.S.F.S., Comparative Politics, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

Areas of Interest
• Central and South Asia
• Former Soviet Union
• Transnational Threats and Terrorism
• International Security Organizations
• Energy Security

Suggested Readings
• Coll, S. (2004). Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001. New York: Penguin Books.
• Hopkirk, P. (1992). The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia. New York: Kodansha Int'l.
• Rashid, A. (2003). Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia. New York: Penguin Books.
• Yergin, D. (1993). The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power. New York: The Free Press.