Sophie Ibbotson
Sophie is an independent researcher and consultant specialising in South and Central Asia. She graduated with an MA (Cantab) in Oriental Studies from Clare College, Cambridge, learning Hindi and Urdu and publishing her dissertation on the development of political ideology and portraiture at the Mughal court. She moved to Kyrgyzstan in 2008 to work for the Ministry of Economy; and subsequently received an MA and MSc in Finance and Investment from London School of Business and Finance, with a thesis on investor demand for Sharia-compliant finance regulations in Uzbekistan.
The majority of Sophie’s work is economic development consultancy through her company Maximum Exposure and the World Bank. She was the international consultant for the World Bank’s Rural Economy Development Project in Tajikistan from 2019-24, and has also worked on donor-funded projects across Central Asia and the Caucasus, the Western Balkans, and the Middle East. Sophie is an advisor to the Chairman of the Jokargy Kenes (Supreme Council) of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, and for the past six years has been Uzbekistan’s Ambassador for Tourism to the UK. The Government of Uzbekistan has recognised these efforts, awarding her with the Turizm Fidoyisi medal of honour.
At Oxford University, Sophie was a 2023/24 Visiting Fellow at the Strategy, Statecraft, and Technology (Changing Character of War) Centre, where she studied the forecasting and mitigation of risks for water-related conflict in Central Asia and Afghanistan. She is a member of the Oxford Water Network, and also belongs to research groups exploring archaeological evidence for climate change in the Aral Sea region, and the resilience of hydroelectric power production in Kyrgyzstan.
Sophie is the first female Chairman of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs (RSAA), a British educational charity founded in 1901 as the Central Asia Society. She has oversight of the society’s lecture and events programme and the ongoing digitisation and development of its extensive archives; hosts the quarterly Reading Room series; and is on the editorial board of the journal, Asian Affairs. The RSAA is an official partner in Sophie’s ongoing Oxus Expedition, a source-to-sea study of the Oxus River, the findings of which will be published in 2026.
Sophie writes for a variety of academic and consumer publications, focusing predominantly on Eurasia. She is the author of six guidebooks for Bradt Travel Guides, and is a regular contributor to Lonely Planet, Wanderlust magazine, and The Telegraph. Sophie has also written for The Economist, The Spectator, and National Geographic.
- Ibbotson, S. (2025). Uzbekistan, 4th ed. Chalfont St Peter: Bradt Travel Guides
- Ibbotson, S. (2024). ‘From Buzkashi to Ulak Tartysh: The Horse Sports of Central Asia’, Caravanserai, Issue 4, 20-23
- Ibbotson, S. (2023). Asia’s Forgotten Republic — Home to Stranded Ships, Odd Animals and Surprising Art. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/asias-forgotten-republic-home-to-stranded-ships-weird-anim/
- Ibbotson, S. (2023). Literature, Power, and the Silk Road Literary Festival. Asian Affairs, 54(1), 125-139
- Ibbotson, S. & Adams, S. (2023). Karakalpakstan. Chalfont St Peter: Bradt Travel Guides
- Ibbotson, S. (2020). COVID-19: Approaches, Outlooks, and Power Dynamics in Central Asia. Asian Affairs, 51(3), 528-541
- Ibbotson, S. (2020). Tajikistan, 3rd ed. Chalfont St Peter: Bradt Travel Guides
- Ibbotson, S. (2019). A Lost City Rises: Archaeologists have Unearthed the ‘Machu Picchu of Tajikistan’. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/tajikistan/machu-picchu-tajikistan-karon/
- Ibbotson, S. (2019). Inside the ‘Pompeii of Uzbekistan’, Alexander the Great’s Forgotten City. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/uzbekistan/articles/Kampir-tepe-pompeii-uzbekistan/
- Ibbotson, S. & Butler, S. (2019). Ladakh, Jammu, & the Kashmir Valley. Chalfont St Peter: Bradt Travel Guides
- Ibbotson, S. & Lovell-Hoare, M. (2015). China’s Expansion by Stealth. Asian Affairs, 46(1), 68-83