Dr. Alexandre Hedjazi has received a doctoral degree in Urban Planning from University of Grenoble in France and a Ph.D from School of Public Affairs – University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Hedjazi’s started his research career on the financing of urban infrastructures and Public-Private Governance which contributed to the final document of OECD’s Conference for Partnership in the XXI Century. In 1997, Dr. Hedjazi joined UCLA to conduct research on regional development and security where among many courses and seminars he lectured on Regionalization and Energy Security at the UCLA Global Studies program. Since joining the University of Geneva in 2007, he has taught many courses on comparative politics, and organized multiple seminar series on the Caspian Sea, Regionalization and Urban development bringing scholars and practitioner to explore and discuss the nexus of development, security and the environment. Bridging his academic research and his knowledge of Central Asia and the Caucasus, his latest work concerns the impact of emerging economic and political insecurities on regional cooperation and development.