2022, July 7
Share this articleBefore joining academia, our new guest of the ‘Galym-Galam’ rubric served as Vice President-General Counsel at NU and practiced law for more than seven years in the banking industry.
From 2018 to 2020, Dr. Nurgozhayeva was a postdoctoral fellow at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Law and the NUS Center for Asian Legal Studies. Her article “Rule-Making, Rule-Taking or Rule-Rejecting under the Belt and Road Initiative: A Central Asian Perspective” was listed in the Best of 2020 law articles from Oxford University Press in the sub-category Comparative Law.
Can you please tell us about your educational and professional background?
I joined NU Graduate School of Business in 2021 as an Assistant professor of law. Previously, I served as Vice-President and General Counsel at NU. Until August 2020, I held the post-doctoral fellow position at the Center for Asian Legal Studies in the Faculty of Law of the National University of Singapore (NUS). Before joining academia, I practiced law for more than seven years as in-house counsel of a commercial bank and a member of an international financial group, where I provided support for bank operations, major acquisitions, securities issuance, and litigation. I completed a bachelor’s degrees in law and economics in Kazakhstan and a master's of laws at Cornell Law School. I hold a doctorate in the science of law also from Cornell.
Can you please tell us about your current research project?
My research interests include comparative corporate law, corporate governance, state-owned enterprises, emerging markets, and law and development.
Currently, I am working on several projects. One of them explores state ownership systems in the emerging markets of Eurasia characterized by a substantial share of the state sector. The project answers several questions: Why does the current state ownership system exist; how has this system evolved; what is the rationale behind an approach that appears to be costly but has given rise to some of the world’s largest companies; and to what extent is the system comparable to China’s model, which is a well-known example of a state-driven structure?
The second research project focuses on the Belt and Road Initiative (the BRI). I study the implications for the legal systems of the BRI countries. To what extent does the BRI lead to the expansion of China’s institutions and legal norms? How can the BRI countries ensure that their interests are adequately protected? I also explore the relationship between the BRI and sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the extent to which the BRI projects help promote responsible investments. Central Asia falls into the “sweet spot” of countries where the BRI has significant potential for ‘greening,’ on the one hand, and Chinese investments account for a large portion of the total foreign investments on the other hand.
Finally, I explore the role of corporate actors in sustainable development and its implications for promoting sustainability values in the region. I argue that the lack of local institutions to support SDGs in emerging economies poses a challenge to achieving those goals and places greater expectations on businesses to deliver on sustainable development targets. Limited capacity or a reluctance to improve institutions has lowered the attractiveness of these countries to a growing number of foreign investors dedicated to SDGs. Accordingly, most of these investment funds go to businesses in developed countries, leaving the developing world far behind. In this context, companies and institutional investors, in particular, can play an influential leadership role in overcoming structural, capital, and institutional barriers.
What are your key research findings?
My research projects are still in progress. However, I can share a couple of preliminary findings. The state ownership project explains how state ownership models operate in emerging state-driven economies. It reveals a distinctive legal regime and the context from which this regime has emerged. It shed light on new data and offers insights arguing that the alternative or hybrid corporate governance models appearing in Eurasia, initially transplanted from the West, were later adapted to address particular socio-economic, policy, and legal agendas. Those adjusted models effectively manage many of the same issues. However, they do so within the unique environment in which they operate. The project fills a significant gap in understanding the development and growth in Eurasia.
The BRI study exposes China’s traditional reliance on host countries’ norms to address environmental and social issues. This reliance becomes increasingly problematic since the BRI countries’ emissions can grow by 66% in 2050 and cause 2.7 C of warming if the BRI maintains the existing investment approach. The study brings a strong call for China to shift BRI projects to more stringent international sustainability and transparency standards. It offers a unique opportunity to study corporate engagement in Central Asia that has global importance concerning natural resources, wilderness preservation, and climate change mitigation. The project explains how businesses may approach sustainability issues when the government is weak in setting expectations and outlining a future role for companies in implementing SDG values.
Why did you choose to join NU?
NU is a young, dynamic institution that embraces academic freedom, has ambitious goals, and demonstrates a solid commitment to society. Like any organization, it is about people: students, faculty, and administration. NU’s ambition, purpose, and community make it a special place to me.
What are your future plans?
I plan to work on offering a few law courses at NU to provide our students with an opportunity to obtain high-quality, innovative legal training with particular attention to international and comparative law. As part of the curriculum, the law helps students comprehend law-related aspects of society and equips them with additional knowledge to battle future challenges. It contributes to NU’s mission, preparing students for a world of increased volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. This mission is hardly achievable without considering the rule of law and its values.
Last but not least, I want to build and finalize my current research projects and look forward to future multidisciplinary research perspectives and collaboration.
