Areas of Research

• Non-proliferation organisations and regimes
• International negotiations and the role of cross-regional coalitions
• Nuclear-weapon-free zones
• Iran’s nuclear programme
• Proliferation theory

Background

Ms. Mukhatzhanova’s work is focused on multilateral regimes and institutions in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. She also leads the VCDNP’s training courses for diplomats and practitioners.

She served as an NGO advisor on state delegations to the 2010, 2015, and 2022 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conferences and advised the delegation of Chile to the negotiations of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in 2017. Ms. Mukhatzhanova is the principal author of a series of CNS reports monitoring the implementation of the 2010 NPT Action Plan.

She was previously Senior Research Associate and NPT Project Manager at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS). She has taught workshops and courses on Iran’s nuclear programme and on nuclear proliferation trends and trigger events at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey. Prior to joining CNS, she was a Media and Outreach Specialist at the UN Development Programme in Kazakhstan.

Education

Ms. Mukhatzhanova received her MA in International Policy Studies, with distinction, from the Monterey Institute of International Studies (2007) and her BA in Journalism/Mass Communication, Cum Laude, from the American University in Bulgaria (2001).