Chiara Pierobon

Dr. Chiara Pierobon is a Senior Researcher at the University of Bielefeld and an Associate Research Fellow at the OSCE Academy in Kyrgyzstan. Her work bridges European Studies, Post-Soviet Dynamics, and Civil Society Research with a focus on state-civil society relations, prevention of violent extremism (PVE), and transnational development cooperation. She has led Volkswagen Foundation and European Commission-funded projects on Central Asia-Europe interactions and democracy assistance.

• Education: Bi-national PhD in Sociology (University of Bielefeld/Trento University), MA in European Institutions and Regional Governance (Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt), and Sociology (Trento University).

Her research explores European Union engagement in Central Asia, analyzing civil society empowerment through programs like EIDHR and NSA/LA. She specializes in prevention of violent extremism and social capital evaluation, with fieldwork expertise in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Russia. Her publications span state-civil society dynamics, donor community impacts, and music's role in political identity.

Award highlights include

• DAAD Travel Grant for 'Coalescence or Collapse' conference
• DAAD Publication Grant for EU civil society analysis
• PhD Scholarship at University of Trento

She has organized international seminars on sustainable development in Central Asia and co-edited books on civil society in the Middle East and North Africa. Her teaching portfolio includes courses on EU democracy promotion, social capital, and post-Soviet identity.