Dr. Dimitar
Keranov, LAkadSA · MRSSAf

Dr. Dimitar Keranov is a Bulgarian-German political scientist based in Varna, Bulgaria. He is a Visiting Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and co-founder and Managing Board member of the Bulgarian Institute for International Politics (BIIP), an independent think tank based in Varna.

His research focuses on democratic backsliding, state capture, and Russian and Chinese influence in Central and Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans — with a parallel expertise in Southern African politics that makes him unique among European political scientists. He has been quoted in The New York Times, The Guardian, RFE/RL, iNews, and Deutsche Welle.

He is a member of the Black Sea Risk Advisory Group, a network of specialists assessing political, security, and economic risk across the Black Sea region.

He serves as President of the Political Science Institute and writes a regular column on Southern Africa for the Varna-based outlet Budna Varna.

A certified project manager from the University of Hagen in Northern Rhine-Westphalia, Dr. Keranov has extensive experience designing and implementing projects, grant writing, and institutional capacity building across the CEE and Western Balkans region. He previously worked at the Institut für Europäische Politik in Berlin and holds an MA in Governance from the University of Hagen.