Scotland to Host Inaugural Workshop on Turkish Politics at University of Glasgow

We are pleased to share the call for papers for the inaugural Scotland Workshop on Turkish Politics, a one-day academic event to be held on 18 June 2025 at the University of Glasgow’s School of Social & Political Sciences. The workshop will bring together early career researchers to present new work and engage in dialogue on contemporary political developments in Turkey.

Organized by a team of scholars based in Scotland and Turkey, the event aims to establish a recurring platform for interdisciplinary research exchange on Turkish politics, with future workshops expected to rotate among Scottish universities. The organizing committee includes Dr Aykut Öztürk (University of Glasgow), Dr Sevinç Öztürk (Çukurova University & University of Glasgow), and Candaş Ayan (Hacettepe University & University of Glasgow).

The call for papers is open until 30 May 2025, with submissions welcomed from doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, and early career faculty. Accepted participants will be notified by 6 June, and full papers are due by 10 June.

The workshop comes at a time of increasing scholarly interest in Turkey’s political trajectory, marked by democratic backsliding, polarizing populism, and complex shifts in foreign and economic policy. Topics of interest include regime change, digital activism, identity politics, Turkey-EU relations, migration, and more. Both theoretical and empirical approaches across disciplines are encouraged.

The format includes paper presentations with assigned discussants for detailed feedback, a keynote address by Dr Diğdem Soyaltın Colella (University of Aberdeen), and a concluding roundtable on the future of Turkish politics research in Scotland. Dr Soyaltın Colella and Dr Uğur Özdemir (University of Edinburgh) are also confirmed as discussants, with additional names to be announced.

There is no fee to participate, though attendees are responsible for their own travel and accommodation costs. Interested researchers and discussants should send submissions or enquiries to turkishpolitics.scotland@gmail.com.

With its ambition to position Scotland as a hub for critical scholarship on Turkey, the workshop promises to be a milestone for early career researchers and a catalyst for future collaboration across borders and disciplines.

See the full call for papers in the attachment below.