I have been research-active for 34 years. Much of my academic and policy-related work has been linked with a deep and abiding interest in Russia and Eurasia, inspired initially by language study early in life (Russian) and by regular visits as a representative of UK industrial companies in the period when the USSR was undergoing rapid change. Since joining the University of Birmingham in 1991, I have published numerous extensively-cited academic articles, as well as policy reports, in the sphere of Russia’s relations with the EU and NATO, Russia’s role in European security governance and arms control in the post-Soviet period (https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=derek+averre&oq=d). Recently, my research interests have developed to encompass Russia’s policy in the Middle East and North Africa, a product of which is a 2024 monograph published by Manchester University Press. My current focus is on the shift in Russia’s foreign policy orientation following the inception of the war in Ukraine and Russia’s relations with the countries of the Global South.My expertise in the field of Russia’s international relations resulted in successful bids for around £3 million research funding, from inter alia the UK Government; from European Union-funded projects involving European and Russian scholars; and from a NATO Advanced Research Workshop grant.
