Alisher Faizullaev, D.Sc. in Political Science and Ph.D. in Psychology, is a scholar-practitioner, author, trainer, and former ambassador whose work bridges diplomacy, negotiation, leadership, psychology, and strategic interaction — fields he has explored both in theory and in practice across a career spanning more than four decades.
Diplomatic Career
Professor Faizullaev entered the diplomatic service in 1993, contributing to the development of Uzbekistan’s foreign relations as a newly independent state. He served as Deputy Minister and First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and as State Adviser on International Affairs in the Office of the President of Uzbekistan. He was the inaugural Ambassador of Uzbekistan to the European Union, NATO, Belgium, and Luxembourg (1995–1998), establishing his country’s diplomatic presence in these institutions and countries from the ground up, and also served concurrently as Ambassador to the Netherlands during this period. He subsequently served as Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1999–2003). He holds the diplomatic ranks of Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (1995) and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (1996).
His diplomatic experience directly shapes his research and teaching, bringing real-world insight into the dynamics of human interaction, negotiation, and strategic communication.
Academic Career
Professor Faizullaev’s academic career began in 1979 and has unfolded across several decades and institutions, reflecting the development of his intellectual interests from psychology through political science and diplomacy.
He began as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, Tashkent (1979–80; 1983–87), and subsequently served as Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy and Economy, Tashkent State University (1987–88). He then founded and led the Department of Organisation and Social Psychology at the Executive Training Institute under the Council of Ministers of Uzbekistan (1988–91), followed by the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Institute of Political Sciences and Management, Tashkent (1991–92).
With Uzbekistan’s independence, he played a founding role in building new academic institutions: he established and headed the Department of Social and Organisation Psychology and the Institute of Management at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy (UWED) in 1992–93, before entering the diplomatic service in 1993.
On returning to academic life after his ambassadorial career, he served as First Vice-Rector of UWED (2003–2005) and has been Professor of Diplomacy and Negotiation there since 2005. He founded the Negotiation Laboratory at UWED in 2008. He has also held teaching positions at Claremont Lincoln University in California (2015–2019), Webster University in Tashkent (2019–present), and the American University of Technology (2026–present).
Internationally, his visiting appointments include Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University (2011), and the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Georgetown University (2012); Visiting Scholar at the University of Cambridge (2005) and McGill University (2014); Tom and Ruth Sharkey Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Seton Hall University (2025); and Leif J. Sverdrup Global Teaching Fellow and Visiting Professor at Webster University, St. Louis (2024).
He combines academic research and teaching with executive training and consulting for business leaders, diplomats, and international organisations, focusing on strategic negotiation, leadership communication, and cross-cultural collaboration.
Honors, Fellowships, and Distinctions
- Spirit of UWED Award, University of World Economy and Diplomacy (2026), and Certificate of Commendation from the Ministry of Higher Education of Uzbekistan (2026)
- Tom and Ruth Sharkey Distinguished Visiting Scholar, School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University, USA (2025)
- Leif J. Sverdrup Global Teaching Fellow and Visiting Professor, Webster University, St. Louis, USA (2024)
- Global Leadership Award, Claremont Lincoln University, USA (2018)
- Fulbright Visiting Scholar, Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Georgetown University (2012), and The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University (2011)
- Visiting Scholar, McGill University (2014)
- Visiting Scholar, University of Cambridge (2005)
- Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Western Washington University (1992)
- Distinguished Visitor’s Grant, Japan Foundation (2005)
- Grant of the British Committee for the Central and Inner Asia (2004)
- Professor academic title conferred (2016)
- Prize for Young Social Scientists, awarded by the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and the Ministries of Higher and Secondary Education of the Soviet Union (1987), for the monograph Motivational Self-Regulation of Personality (1987)
Education and Degrees
He completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at Tashkent State University before defending his Ph.D. at the Institute of Psychology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in 1984. He later completed his Doctor of Sciences (higher doctorate) degree in Political Science at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in 2006.
Research and Publications
Professor Faizullaev’s research spans diplomatic theory, negotiation, political psychology, and Central Asian geopolitics. His work has appeared in the Review of International Studies, International Negotiation, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, Diplomacy and Statecraft, Negotiation Journal, Journal of International Relations and Development, the Geographical Journal, and other leading publications. He has contributed chapters to volumes published by Oxford University Press, Routledge, and McGill-Queen’s University Press, and has served on the International Advisory Board of The Hague Journal of Diplomacy and the Editorial Board of the Cambridge Journal of Eurasian Studies.
He is the author of ten scholarly, nonfiction, and literary books, including Diplomacy for Professionals and Everyone (Brill, 2022) and Symbolic Insult in Diplomacy (Brill, 2018). A full list of publications is available in the Scholar & Educator section.
Professional Memberships
Professor Faizullaev is a member of the Program on International Negotiation Training (POINT), the European Negotiation Association, and the International Studies Association. He has served on the Advisory Boards of the UNDP Central Asia Regional Human Development Report and the COMPASS consortium — a six-university research initiative spanning five countries.
A TEDx speaker whose talk on everyday diplomacy has accumulated over 260,000 views.
Alisher Faizullaev 