Dr Mélanie Sadoza? joined DIMAS in February 2024 as a postdoctoral research associate. Prior to this position, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at George Washington University (2022–2023), and a George F. Kennan Fellow at the Wilson Center (2023). Dr Sadoza? earned her PhD in Political Science and International Relations from the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO/Sorbonne Paris Cité).
Her research explores the multiple forms of cross-border relations in the borderlands of the Pamir Mountains, where she has conducted consistent ethnographic fieldwork for over a decade. Her forthcoming book, Tadjikistan-Afghanistan. Une frontière aux confins du Pamir (Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée), deconstructs the dominant discourse of danger surrounding this region, more particularly the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border, and highlights the everyday life of a resource-producing border.
Her current research, supported by a Small Scheme Grant from the Delta on the Move Foundation, investigates cross-border relations under disrupted political conditions, with a focus on exchanges between Central Asia and Afghanistan under Taliban rule. She is also the recipient of an Early Career Research Grant from the ScienceCampus Regensburg, awarded jointly with Dr Marie Beyrich, for a project entitled The Legal Constitutions of Borders, which examines legal tensions in three European borderlands. Broadly, Dr Sadoza?’s work demonstrates that so-called “sensitive” borders are sites of intense contact and connectivity.
At the University of Regensburg, she teaches courses on Central Asia and Afghanistan, Border Studies, and Ethnographic Methods.
Office: Room BA.808, Bajuwarenstra?e 4
E-Mail: melanie.sadozai(at)ur.de (opens your email program)
Phone: +49 941 943-68539
CV
Academic Positions
| since February 2024 | Research Associate at the Department for Interdisciplinary and Multiscalar Area Studies (DIMAS), University of Regensburg |
| 2022-2023 | Post-Doctoral Research Scholar, Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (IERES), Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University |
| 2023 | George F. Kennan Fellow, Kennan Institute, Wilson Center |
Academic Education
| 2022 | Ph.D. in Political Science and International Relations, Centre de Recherche Europes-Eurasie (CREE), Institut national des Langues et Civilisations orientales (INALCO) |
| 2018 | M.A. in War Studies ?Expertise des conflits armés? (summa cum laude, valedictorian), Institut des Etudes sur la Guerre et la Paix, Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne |
| 2016 | M.A. in International Relations; M.A. in European Studies (both magna cum laude), Institut Pierre Renouvin, Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne |
| 2013 | B.A. in Persian Language and Civilization (magna cum laude), Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (INALCO) |
Research
Research Interests
Topics
- Border Regions (in particular Tajikistan-Afghanistan borderlands & Pamirs borderlands)
- Relations between Central Asia and Afghanistan
- History and Geography of the Pamirs & Badakhshan
- History and Geography of Tajikistan & Afghanistan
- Iranian Languages (Tajik, Dari, Shughni)
- Border Tensions in Europe
Approaches
- Critical Border Studies
- Transnationalism in International Relations Theory
Methods
- Ethnographic Methods in Remote Areas
- Digital Discourse Analysis
- Oral History
Publications
Book
- Sadoza?, M. Forthcoming. Tadjikistan-Afghanistan. Une frontière aux confins du Pamir [Tajikistan-Afghanistan. A border along the edges of the Pamirs]. Montpellier: Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée.
Peer Reviewed Articles
- Sadoza?, M. 2025. "When International Relations Theory Meets Border Studies: A Transnationalist Approach to the Study of Remote Borderlands"." International Studies 61 (3): 229-247. https://doi.org/10.1177/00208817251353593
- Sadoza?, M. 2025. “Central Asia's Coverage in the Border Studies Literature: A Systematic Review of Fundamental Contributions to the Field.” Central Asian Affairs 11 (3–4): 296–332. https://doi.org/10.30965/22142290-bja10058
- Sadoza?, M. 2023. “L’image pour déconstruire l’imaginaire à la frontière entre le Tadjikistan et l’Afghanistan” [Image to deconstruct imaginaries at the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan]. EchoGéo 63. https://doi.org/10.4000/echogeo.25308
- Hohmann, S., and Sadoza? M. 2023. “Le danger aux frontières ? Que disent les terrains entre l'Asie centrale et l'Afghanistan ?” [Danger along borders? What does fieldwork between Central Asia and Afghanistan tell us?]. Esprit, XI–XXI. https://doi.org/10.3917/espri.2311.0000c
- Sadoza?, M., and Blondin, S. 2022. “More Remote Yet More Connected? Physical Accessibility and New International Contacts in Tajikistan’s Pamirs Since 1991.” Problems of Post Communism 70 (3): 290–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2022.2149557
- Sadoza?, M. 2021. “The Tajikistani-Afghan Border in Gorno-Badakhshan: Resources of a War-Torn Neighborhood.” Journal of Borderlands Studies 38 (3): 461–485. https://doi.org/10.1080/08865655.2021.1948898
- Sadoza?, M. 2021. “Interview with Zalma?, Conducted in Paris, 1 February 2021 (FR).” Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies [Online] 33. https://doi.org/10.4000/pipss.6191
Chapters in Edited Volumes
- Sadoza?, M. 2024. “Enquêter en milieu frontalier isolé. Le terrain ethnographique dans le Haut-Badakhchan au Tadjikistan” [Investigation in a remote borderland environment. Ethnographic fieldwork in Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan]. In L’enquête en terrain “sensible”. Bricolages méthodologiques et enjeux des recherches sur l’international [Investigating on “sensitive” fieldwork. Methodological tinkering and challenges in international research], edited by Christelle Calmels, Léonard Colomba-Petteng, Emmanuel Dreyfus, and Adrien Estève, Paris: Presses Universitaires du Septentrion.
- Sadoza?, M. 2023. “Being Afghani, French and not Soviet along the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.” In Researching Central Asia: Navigating Positionality in the Field, edited by Jasmin Dall’Agnola and Aijan Sharshenova, Berlin: Springer.
- Sadoza?, M. 2023. “Le Traité de gouvernement” [The Treaty of Government]. In Approches extra-occidentales de la paix et de la sécurité: une anthologie commentée [Extra-Western Approaches to Peace and Security: An Annotated Anthology], edited by Delphine Allès et al., Paris: CNRS ?ditions.
Non refereed scientific articles (selected)
- Sadoza?, M. 2023. “Opportunities and Frustrations of a Closed Border Regime between Tajikistan and Afghanistan in Badakhshan: Back to Remoteness?” BorderObs.
- Sadoza?, M. 2023. “La frontière entre le Tadjikistan et l'Afghanistan depuis l'été 2021 (2): Le quotidien à la frontière et la situation des réfugiés au Tadjikistan [The border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan since the summer of 2021 (2): Everyday life at the border and the situation of refugees in Tajikistan].” Les Nouvelles d'Afghanistan.
- Sadoza?, M., and Blondin, S. 2023. “In Tajikistan’s Pamir Mountains, Environmental Hazards Complicate Human Mobility and Connections with Afghanistan.” The Academic.
- Sadoza?, M. 2022. “Asie centrale-Afghanistan : des frontières sous haute surveillance [Central Asia-Afghanistan: Borders under High Surveillance].” The Conversation.
- Sadoza?, M. 2021. “Taliban at the Border: A New Regime Neighboring Tajikistan.” Central Asia Program, CAP Paper no. 267.
- Sadoza?, M. 2021. “Die Auswirkungen der Machtübernahme der Taliban in den Grenzgebieten des Pamirs [The Impact of the Taliban Takeover in the Pamirs Borderlands].” Zentralasien-Analysen 150 (December): 2–6.
- Sadoza?, M. 2021. “Konflikt na granice: kakie budut posledstvi? dl? vnutrennej i vne?nej politiki Kyrgyzstana i Tad?ikistana? [Conflict on the Border: What Will Be the Consequences for Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan’s Domestic and Foreign Policies?].” CABAR Asia [Online].
Policy Briefs
- Sadoza?, M. 2023. “Cross-border Relations between Central Asia and Afghanistan in the Taliban Era: Security and Connectivity Implications for the Region.” OSCE Academy Policy Briefs, Policy Brief no. 89.
Book Reviews
- Annuaire fran?ais des relations internationales, Champs de Mars, Revue d'études comparatives Est-Ouest, Slavica Occitania.
Teaching and Science Communication
Teaching
Winter Semester 2025/26
- Seminar "Activism and resistance in decliming liberal democracies" | 21618
- Introduction to Social Sciences | 33191
Summer Semester 2025
- 80742MS Central Asia's Current Affairs
- 21684 Law and Borders: The construction and meaning of borders for international migration
- 80790ms When Border Studies Meet Social Sciences and the Humanities
Winter Semester 2024/25
- 80760MS Borders in Political Discourse
- 80761MS Politics and International Relations of Central Asia and Afghanistan: Competing Approaches
- 80791MS Researching (in) Remote Areas: Preparing, Conducting, and Reflecting on Ethnographic Methods
Summer Semester 2024
- 80740MS Border Tensions in Europe
- 80741MS Central Asia inside and out: politics, society and international relations
- 80790MS When Border Studies Meet Social Sciences and the Humanities
Supervision (Bachelor & Master theses)
- MA in European Studies (2 students)
- BA in German-French Studies (3 students)
Science communication
Interviews
Arte, BBC, France Culture, France 24, Le Figaro, Majlis Podcast, Novastan, Société de géographie
Trainings
Centre for Asylum Seekers (Dole, France), Institute of Higher National Defence Studies (France)
Briefings
European Union, Austrian Defence Ministry, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, U.S. Department of State
Projects and Networking
Committee work and academic functions
Academic responsibilities
2024-present: Cambridge Massoud Conference (CMC), Member of the academic board
2022-present: European Society for Central Asian Studies (ESCAS), Board member
2018-2023: Centre for European and Eurasian Research (CREE, INALCO), Board member
2018-2022: Center for European and Eurasian Research (CREE, INALCO), PhD students' representative
Fellowships
2021-present: Central Asia Programme, Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (IERES), George Washington University (Associate Scholar)
2020-2022: Sigur Center for Asian Studies, George Washington University (Visiting Scholar)
2019: French Institute for Central Asian Studies (IFEAC), Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (Visiting Scholar)
2022-present: Central Eurasian Studies Society (Member)
External Reviews
- Cambridge University Press
- Afghanistan
- Asian Affairs
- Central Asian Affairs
Grants
- Leibniz ScienceCampus, “Early Career Research Network: The Legal Constitutions of Borders”
- Delta on the Move Foundation, Small Grant Scheme, “The Borderlands of Central Asia and Afghanistan: Maintaining Cross-border Contacts under the Taliban”
- Wilson Center, “George F. Kennan” Grant
- French Institute for Central Asian Studies (IFEAC), Fieldwork Grant
- Pierre Ledoux Foundation, Mobility Grant
- Institute of Higher National Defense Studies (IHEDN), International Mobility Grant
- Center for European & Eurasian Research (CREE), INALCO, Fieldwork Grant
- INALCO funded PhD
Lectures and conferences (selected)
Conferences and meetings
| 2024 | Critical Legal Conference, University of Exeter. Border Regions in Transition XVII (BRIT), UCLan Cyprus. |
| 2024 | "Central Asian Trans/Regional" Workshop, University of Regensburg "Disruptive Borderlands" Conference, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) Eur-Asian BorderLab Symposium, University of Tallinn. |
| 2023 | Central Eurasian Studies Society (CESS) Annual Conference, University of Pittsburgh 9th Seminar of the UniGR-Center for Border Studies, Saarland University Central Asia Security Workshop, George Washington University. |
| 2022 | Central Eurasian Studies Society (CESS) Summer Conference, Tashkent, Uzbekistan. |
| 2021 | Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) Annual Conference, New-Orleans. |
| 2020 | "Borderlands" Conference, 17th Conference of the Graduate Organisation for the Study of Europe and Central Asia (GOSECA), University of Pittsburgh. |
Research seminars and workshops
| 2023 | "Ethnic Minorities in Border Regions" Workshop, ZOiS, Berlin INALCO/Oxford joint seminar "Global International Relations and Area Studies: epistemological and methodological dialogues". |
| 2021 | "Ground Truth: Local Views About the Taliban's Return", George Washington University [Online], www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpYRc3i2HNw (external link, opens in a new window). |
| 2018 | "La frontière, une ressource territoriale ?" [The border, a territorial resource?], Institut des Frontières et Discontinuités, Artois University, Arras, France. |
Summer schools
| 2019 | International Social Science Summer School in Ukraine, "War and Society: Making and Experiencing War (and Peace) in 19th-21st century Eastern/Central Europe and Eurasia", Kherson, Ukraine. |
Events organization (selected, since 2024)
| Since 2024 | (with Roman Birke): DIMAS Early Career Research Seminar (ECRS). |
| 2025 | (as part of ESCAS): “Moving Central Eurasian Studies even further: orthodox vs unorthodox approaches”, Taskent & Samarkand, Uzbekistan. |
| 2024 | (with Cindy Wittke): “(Un)frozen conflicts: polymorph aspects of contested sovereignty and multi-dimensonal borders in Europe and beyond”, Leibniz ScienceCampus, University of Regensburg. |
| 2024 | (as part of ESCAS): “(Un)orthodox approaches to Eurasian studies”, Marmara University, Istanbul. |