Dr. Alexander Diener is a Professor of Geography at the University of Kansas. He holds a BA from Pepperdine University, an MA in international relations from the University Chicago, an MA in political geography from the University of South Carolina, and a PhD in geography from the University of Wisconsin.  Alex is currently the Managing Co-Editor of the academic journal Oxford Intersections Borders and has written extensively on topics ranging from diasporas to urban landscape change to borders and place attachment. He has over 20 years’ experience in Central Asia and Mongolia and spent many a night on the steppe, in the deserts, and on the mountains. Alex is also a professional musician and writes novels, commonly set in the former Soviet Union.