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The Political Studies Association’s Turkish Politics Specialist Group invites paper proposals for an upcoming online workshop and a prospective special issue focused on the evolving landscape of Turkish politics.

In recent years, Turkey has undergone significant transformations across political institutions, civil society, and foreign policy. These shifts raise important questions about state–society relations, authoritarian governance, opposition dynamics, and Turkey’s changing role in regional and global politics. This call seeks contributions that critically engage with these developments through innovative theoretical approaches and diverse methodological strategies. We are particularly interested in work that examines the interconnectedness of domestic political change and international dynamics.

Second Round of Submissions

We had shared a call for papers in the summer.

Call for Papers: Turkish Politics in Transition – New Perspectives on State, Society, and Foreign Policy

We are now opening a second round of this call for papers, with a new abstract submission deadline of 5 January. We aim to notify applicants of decisions within one week of the deadline and to organise the online workshop in February 2026.

Format and Timeline

The workshop will be held online and will be based on pre-circulated papers. All selected participants will be expected to read each other’s work in advance and to provide comments during the workshop. Our aim is to create a supportive and collegial environment that offers detailed, constructive feedback, with a view to developing papers for the planned special issue, which is scheduled for submission in May 2026.

Please submit an abstract of no more than 300 words, along with a short biographical note, to turkishpoliticspsa@gmail.com.

We warmly encourage submissions from scholars at all career stages and look forward to receiving your proposals.

Dr. Sertdemir Özdemir is a Visiting Fellow at the European Institute of the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her research explores democratic theory and key issues in contemporary political philosophy, including civil disobedience and political rights.

In her book, Sertdemir examines the Turkish government’s response to the coup, which included the dismissal of approximately 152,000 individuals through emergency decrees known as “kanun hükmünde kararnameli” in Turkish. The book explores how these authoritarian securitisation methods were implemented and their impact on the lives of the affected individuals.

The book launch will take place on 4 June at 9:00 AM Pacific Time / 5:00 PM BST / 6:00 PM CEST.

The book will be discussed by Banu Bargu (University of California, Santa Cruz) and Elise Massicard (Sciences Po).

You can read more about the book here.

The event will take place via Zoom. You can find the joining link here.

We are pleased to invite you to the Autumn 2024 Turkish Politics Online Workshop, a forum for scholarly discussions on key political issues shaping contemporary Turkey. Organized by Assistant Professor Aykut Ozturk (University of Glasgow) and Assistant Professor Digdem Soyaltin-Colella (University of Aberdeen), this workshop is open to all academics and researchers with a focus on Turkish politics. The event will take place via Zoom.

The workshop is structured to provide detailed and constructive feedback on working papers, offering presenters the opportunity to engage critically with both scholars and participants. This collaborative environment is intended to support the refinement and advancement of ongoing research. Each session is designed to foster rigorous academic exchange and encourage interdisciplinary dialogue.

The topics covered in the workshop will address significant aspects of Turkey’s political landscape, such as electoral strategies involving the nomination of (un)veiled women, the interplay between political trust and citizen participation in the wake of the recent earthquake, the effects of neoliberal transformations on social dynamics, and the impact of economic crises in accelerating privatization processes.

For further information and dates, please refer to the attached program and see the joining links below.

Joining Links

Please find the registration link for to the presentations below:

11th of November: Does Islamic Religiosity Constrain Democratic Attitudes https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIofu6srT8rGdC5b44HzFOZaWfdzeE78E-1#/registration

18th of November: Socialisation dynamics and the neoliberal transformation in Turkey https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0tf-mgqj4uHdbur68FS3yo46qvtcIbXQs3#/registration

9th of December: Crisis-Stimulated Change: Rapid Privatization During Times of Dual Crisis https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAlc-yoqzwrE9SezFM8zwZHww1RooTUzCXU#/registration

The PSA Greek and Turkish Specialist Groups are delighted to announce a virtual book launch event for One Hundred Years of Greek-Turkish Relations: The Human Dimension of an Enduring Conflict by Samim Akgönül. This event will take place on Friday, 13th September, at 16:30 BST.

The event will feature Bahar Baser (Durham University) and Nikos Christofis (University of Thessaly) as discussants. The discussion will be moderated by Özlem Kayhan Pusane.

To join the event, please register in advance through the provided Zoom link.

The PSA Greek Politics and Turkish Politics Specialist Groups are inviting you to a virtual roundtable to discuss the domestic and international dynamics of the post-electoral context in Turkey and Greece on 20 November 2023 from 16:30 – 17:30 GMT.

The event will host:

Professor Myrto Tsakatika (University of Glasgow)

Dr Özlem Kayhan Pusane (Işık University)

Dr Leonidas Karakatsanis (University of Macedonia)

Dr Buğra Güngör (American University of Central Asia)

The discussion will be moderated by Dr Georgios Giannakopoulos and Dr Begum Zorlu (City, University of London).

Registration can be made via the Zoom link: https://newcastleuniversity.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qD658d76RuWl9dNla6Targ#/registration

About the Speakers:

Professor Myrto Tsakatika’s research mainly centers on European Union politics and public policy, with a particular emphasis on exploring the concept of the ‘democratic deficit,’ and shifts in public Euroscepticism. She is also conducting a comparative study of radical left parties, with a special focus on Southern European countries.

Dr Özlem Kayhan Pusane’s broader research and teaching interests lie in the areas of security studies, civil-military relations, counterinsurgency, and counterterrorism. Özlem Kayhan Pusane is also the International Relations officer of the PSA Turkish Politics Specialist Group.

Dr Leonidas Karakatsanis’s research interests include the politics of identity and reconciliation, peace and conflict transformation, nationalism, minority rights, immigration, civil society and the politics of resistance. His theoretical interests include discourse theory, theory of deconstruction, theories of affect, post-structuralist political theory and interdisciplinary approaches to social and political sciences. The area of his research is Turkey and its neighbours in the Caucasus, the Balkans, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean.

Dr Buğra Güngör’s research interests include conflict processes, soft power, public diplomacy, foreign policy analysis, and Turkish foreign policy. He has extensive experience with managing development and humanitarian projects commissioned by various UN agencies, IOs, and INGOs in Switzerland and Turkey. He is also the co-convenor and chair of the PSA Turkish Politics Specialist Group. 

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the upcoming “PSA Turkish Politics Virtual Book Launch with Élise Massicard” event, originally scheduled for Wednesday, has been canceled.

The event has been rescheduled to take place on Wednesday, 10th January 2024. Please find the updated event details below, adjusted for various time zones:

• UK: Wednesday, 10th January 2024, at 5:00 PM (17:00)
• France: Wednesday, 10th January 2024, at 6:00 PM (18:00)
• Turkey: Wednesday, 10th January 2024, at 8:00 PM (20:00)

For those who have already registered for the event, the registration will automatically carry over to the rescheduled date. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to your participation on the new date.