Bruce Koepke
Citizenship: Australia, Germany
Position at SIPRI: Senior Researcher, Armed Conflict and Conflict Management Programme
Subject expertise: State-building in conflict/post-conflict countries; regional cooperation; reconciliation; peacekeeping; peacebuilding; regional security; natural resources and conflict; elections in emerging democracies; ethnic minorities; multilateral organizations
Regional expertise: West Asia and the Middle East
Languages: English, German, Farsi/Dari
Education: PhD in political science and international relations from the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, Australian National University
Contact: Email Phone: +46-8-655 9 774
Dr Bruce Koepke has been working on and in Afghanistan for the last 15 years. Prior to joining SIPRI in August 2012, he was employed with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), initially based in northern Afghanistan and Kabul and later in Tehran where he headed UNAMA’s liaison office. Most recently, he worked in the Joint Analysis and Planning Unit in the Office of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Kabul. Dr Koepke conducted research in Afghanistan during the Taliban period.
Current activities
- Wider Central Asia Initiative with a particular emphasis on Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan and the role of the international community and the United Nations
Former positions
- Deputy Director, Joint Analysis and Policy Unit, United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Kabul (2011-2012)
- Head of UNAMA’s Liaison Office in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran (2006-2011)
- Resident UN Fellow, American University in Cairo, Egypt (September 2007 – January 2008)
- Political Affairs Officer, UNAMA HQ, Kabul, Afghanistan (2004-2005)
- Political Affairs Officer, UNAMA, North Afghanistan (2002-2004)
- Researcher, The Australian National University, Canberra (1997-2002)
Recent publications
- Koepke, B., “Regional Cooperation”, In Working Toward Peace and Prosperity in Afghanistan, ed. by Wolfgang Danspeckgruber (Lynne Rienner, Boulder, Colorado, pp. 17-24, 2011)
- Koepke, B., “The Situation of Afghans in the Islamic Republic of Iran Nine Years After the Overthrow of the Taliban Regime in Afghanistan”. Middle East Institute, Fondation pour la Rechérche Stratégique (2011)
- Koepke, B., “Afghanistan: History,” in The Far East and Australasia 2003, (London: Europa, pp. 60-78, 2002)
- Koepke, B., “Finding a Balance between Religious Orthodoxy and the Maintenance of Afghanistan’s Traditions,” in Afghanistan - Country without State?, ed. by C. Noelle-Karimi, C. Schetter and R. Schlagintweit, (Frankfurt: IKO Verlag, pp. 65-76, 2002)
