Kenta Aoki is an Executive Research Fellow at Middle East Institute of Japan (MEIJ), Tokyo, Japan. He taught at Ochanomizu University before joining MEIJ in 2019. His research primarily focuses on the Contemporary Politics in Afghanistan and Iran. He worked in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2013 for 7 years with various institutions as an advisor to UNDP/Afghan Ministry, diplomat at Japanese Embassy and NGO worker. He earned a B.A. degree in Sociology at Sophia University and M.A. in Peace Studies from the University of Bradford, U.K. He also serves as a Fellow at Graduate School of Global Studies, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.His recent publications include "The Quad Plus and Promoting International Connectivity: A Focus on the Makran Region," in Jagannath P. Panda and Ernest Gunasekara-Rockwell eds., Quad Plus and Indo-Pacific: The Changing Profile of International Relations (Routledge: 2021), The Resurgence of the Taliban: Contemporary History of Afghanistan in Turmoil (Iwanami Shoten: 2022, in Japanese), A Portrait of "Crossroads of Civilizations": The True Face of Afghanistan (Kobunsha: 2023, in Japanese) in addition to articles in journals such as Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Journal of International Security, Diplomacy, Wedge, Foresight.