Meet the Executive Team

bEGUM ZORLU

Begüm Zorlu is the co-convenor and chair of the PSA Turkish Politics Specialist Group. She is a Visiting Lecturer in the department of International Politics at City, University of London. Begüm’s research focuses on political parties and contentious politics in Latin America and the Middle East. She has also worked on the dynamics of peace processes and documentary photography. Her work can be seen on her personal website www.begumzorlu.com.

Buğra Güngör

Buğra Güngör is the co-convenor and chair of the PSA Turkish Politics Specialist Group. He completed his Ph.D. in International Relations and Political Science at the Geneva Graduate Institute. He also holds a master’s degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Sabanci University and a bachelor’s in Philosophy, together with a minor degree certificate in Political Science, awarded by Bilkent University. In addition, he has extensive experience with managing development and humanitarian projects commissioned by various UN agencies, IOs, and INGOs in Switzerland and Turkey. Dr. Güngör’s research interests include conflict processes, soft power, public diplomacy, foreign policy analysis, and Turkish foreign policy. 

Özlem Kayhan Pusane 

Özlem Kayhan Pusane is the International Relations officer of the PSA Turkish Politics Specialist Group. She received her M.A. degree in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame in 2004, where she also received her Ph.D. degree in Political Science in 2009. She is currently an associate professor at Işık University (Istanbul, Turkey). Özlem’s broader research and teaching interests lie in the areas of traditional and critical security studies, civil-military relations, counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, and foreign policy analysis.

Seçkin Sertdemir Özdemir

Seçkin Sertdemir Özdemir is the events officer of the PSA Turkish Politics Specialist Group. She is a Collegium Researcher in the Department of Philosophy, Contemporary History and Political Science and Turku Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Turku and Visiting Fellow in the European Institute at London School of Economics and Political Science. She is currently leading an interdisciplinary research project on new securitisation practices and modes of governance in Turkey. Her recent research was published in Punishment & Society, Journal of Refugee Studies, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. She can be contacted at sseozd@utu.fi.