Regional expertise. Strategic perspective.

Elvira Aidarkhanova

Elvira Aidarkhanova is the Founder and Principal of Steppe Bridge Advisory LLC, a boutique strategic advisory firm focused on geopolitical risk, investment environments, and strategic analysis across Eurasia and the Middle East.

With more than a decade of experience in international relations, policy research, academia, and strategic analysis, she works at the intersection of geopolitics, markets, energy, and emerging technologies. Her areas of focus include Central Asia, the Caucasus, critical minerals, energy security, regional connectivity, water diplomacy, sanctions exposure, and investment risk.

Her professional background includes research and policy work with U.S. think tanks, as well as academic and research positions in Central Asia. She has taught and conducted research in international relations and Eurasian studies and advises public- and private-sector audiences navigating complex regional environments.

Her analysis and commentary have appeared in The Diplomat, The National Interest, Forbes Kazakhstan, and other international and regional publications. Elvira holds an M.A. from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and is currently pursuing an MBA at Boston University Questrom School of Business.

“Turning regional expertise into practical strategic insight.”

Dr. Akbota Karibayeva Meyer

Dr. Akbota Karibayeva Meyer is a Research Fellow at the Caspian Policy Center, where she focuses on geopolitics, energy security, business climate, and political risk across Central Asia and Eurasia.

Her professional experience spans political risk, policy research, critical minerals, U.S. industrial policy, semiconductor supply chains, nuclear energy, and the market implications of political, regulatory, and technological change. She translates complex qualitative and quantitative information into clear, actionable analysis for corporate, government, and policy audiences, using R, Stata, and Excel to support research, strategy development, policy planning, and stakeholder engagement.

Previously, Akbota worked at ACG Analytics and has also worked with the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, Freedom House, and the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at George Washington University. Her policy commentary has appeared in Foreign Policy, The Diplomat, and Zentralasien-Analysen, while her academic research has been published in Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Europe-Asia Studies, and Springer Nature.

At Steppe Bridge, she contributes data-informed analysis of political and market risk across Eurasia and adjacent markets, with particular expertise in critical minerals and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. Akbota holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from George Washington University, an M.A. in International Relations from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. in Political Science from Nazarbayev University.