Artyom Lukin is Deputy Director for Research and Associate Professor at the School of Regional and International Studies, Far Eastern Federal University, Russia. Rouben Azizian is a professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Before joining, Dr Azizian taught at the Department of Political Studies of the University of Auckland, New Zealand and was previously President of the Auckland Branch of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs.