Demyan is a published researcher, analyst, and writer on international relations, human rights, and security. Demyan is currently a Senior Analyst at Global Affairs Canada, leading research and analysis on key foreign policy priorities and global trends. He has previously worked on Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Mauritania at Global Affairs. Demyan has worked at the United Nations headquarters in New York, five government departments in Canada, NATO Association of Canada, in academic positions at Western University and Carleton University, and with other organizations. 

While at Global Affairs, Demyan spearhead Canada’s co-sponsorship of a landmark Human Rights Council resolution on Belarus that established a UN investigation into human rights violations and supported the International Accountability Platform for Belarus, helped shape Canada’s approach to the conflict in eastern Ukraine and annexation of Crimea, investigated terrorism and security in North Africa, and built several sanctions packages responding to various grave violations of human rights, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. At Natural Resources Canada, Demyan helped shape Canada’s recommendations to the Least Developing Countries Expert Group on climate change, and cultivated a global network of experts and officials to investigate global indirect climate change impacts. 

His recent publications include NATO Sanctions Policy, Russia’s Constitutional Changes, NATO’s Partnership with the UN: Empowerment through UNSCR 1325 and SDG 5, and a book review of The CSCE and the end of the Cold War: diplomacy, societies and human rights 1972–1990. Demyan is currently working on a book review evaluating global referendums, and an academic article comparing Ukraine, Georgia, and Kazakhstan’s democratic evolutions. He has an MA in European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies from Carleton University, and a BA Honours Specialization in Political Science from Western University and the University of Copenhagen.

Policy Primer: Human Security in the Arctic: A Review of the Russian Literature, by Demyan Plakhov, January 2022

Policy Primer: NATO Sanctions Policy, by Demyan Plakhov, July 2021