About

Arsen Askaruly Maltabarov is a Lecturer in the Department of International Relations and World Economy at the Faculty of International Relations, al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He completed his bachelor’s degree at al-Farabi Kazakh National University in 2014 and holds a Master of Social Sciences degree in World Economy.

His research is situated at the intersection of international relations, regional studies, world economy, digital transformation, public policy, and sustainable development. His principal area of interest is the regional dimension of digital transformation in Central Asia, including the ways in which digital technologies influence public administration, regional integration, diplomacy, and relations between Central Asian countries and external international actors.

Maltabarov’s research has examined digital government and GovTech development across the five Central Asian states, as well as the role of digital transformation in regional integration. He has also studied the European Union’s digital and geopolitical engagement with Central Asia, including EU–Central Asia cooperation, digital diplomacy, and strategic competition involving the European Union, Russia, China, the United States, and the countries of the region.

His methodological experience includes comparative regional analysis, policy and document analysis, game-theoretical modelling, the construction of strategic payoff matrices, and the analysis of digital and social-media data. In his research on European digital diplomacy in Central Asia, he and his co-authors examined Facebook activity between 2009 and 2024 using indicators such as followers, likes, comments, shares, posting frequency, audience engagement, and correlation analysis.

A developing strand of his research concerns the relationship between digital transformation, gender equality, and women’s access to education. His co-authored 2025 study, Global Digitalization and Women’s Education: Challenges of Implementing the International Agenda in Central Asia, analyses international frameworks concerning gender, education, and technology, as well as national strategies in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. The study addresses the digital gender divide, unequal access to digital infrastructure, socio-cultural barriers, and institutional difficulties in implementing international gender-equality commitments.

His current research interests include the implementation of gender-equality policies in Central Asian institutional settings and the potential application of the Gender Equality Policy in Practice — GEPP framework to non-Western policy cases. He is particularly interested in bringing empirically grounded Central Asian perspectives into comparative international research and in strengthening cooperation between scholars from Central Asia and international academic networks.

Publications

Sarybayev, M., Maltabarov, A., & Abdikhaparova, G. (2025). Global Digitalization and Women’s Education: Challenges of Implementing the International Agenda in Central Asia. Bulletin of Ablai Khan KazUIRandWL, Series “International Relations and Regional Studies”, 3(61), 348–376.

Fernandez-Grela, M., Maltabarov, A., & Apsattarova, G. (2025). Digital Diplomacy: How the EU Utilizes Facebook in Central Asia. Public Administration and Civil Service, 1(92), 169–182.

Maltabarov, A., Chukubayev, Y., Sarybayev, M., & Apsattarova, G. (2025). Geopolitical and Digital Game: The Clash of EU and Russian Interests in Central Asian States. Journal of Central Asian Studies, 23(4), 4–29.

Maltabarov, A., Sarybayev, M., & Chukubayev, Y. (2023). Regional Dimension of Digital Transformation: The Interests of the European Union in the Countries of Central Asia. Journal of Central Asian Studies, 91(3), 40–55.

Maltabarov, A., Sarybayev, M., & Chukubayev, Y. (2022). Digital Transformation of the Countries of the Central Asian Region: Prospects for Public Administration in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan-Spectrum, 104(4).

Email: : maltabarov.arsen1@gmail.com; Arsen.Maltabarov@kaznu.edu.kz