I hold a PhD in Political science from the University of Ottawa (2014). I joined the faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Nazarbayev University in August 2016 after completing a postdoctorate at the Chair for the Study of Religious Pluralism and the Center for International Studies at the Université de Montréal. Prior to my hiring at NU, I served as a lecturer at the Université de Montréal and the University of Ottawa. I also hold a graduate degree from the Université libre de Bruxelles (2008).
I specialize in ethnography, religion, secularism, and Soviet legacy. My research interests focus on the study of religious identities, especially the growing importance of Islam within Central Asian societies since independence. My current projects also look at changing matrimonial arrangements, especially polygyny, in Tajikistan and Kazakhstan.
Transforming Tajikistan: State-Building and Islam in Post-Soviet Central AsiaThibault, H.,
2018I. B. Tauris,
Counter-extremism, power and authoritarian governance in TajikistanThibault, H., Lemon, E.,
2017 In : Central Asian Survey.
Labour migration, sex, and polygyny: negotiating patriarchy in TajikistanThibault, H.,
2017 In : Ethnic and Racial Studies.
Female Virtue, Religion and State Ideology in TajikistanThibault, H.,
2016Central Eurasia – Religion in International Affairs,
The Soviet Secularization Project in Central Asia: Accommodation and Institutional LegaciesThibault, H.,
2015 In : Eurostudia. 10, 1, p. 11-31
Allah’s Kolkhozes. Migration, De-Stalinisation, Privatisation and the New Muslim Congregations in the Soviet Realm (1950s-2000s)Thibault, H.,
2014 In : Revue des Mondes Musulmans et de la Mediterranee. 138,
The Secular and the Religious in Tajikistan: Contested Political SpacesThibault, H.,
2013 In : Studies in Religion-Sciences Religieuses. 42, 2, p. 173-189
