• B.A., University of Chicago, Political Science and International Studies, 2003
• M.A., University of Chicago, Committee on International Relations, 2003
• M.A., University of California – Berkeley, Political Science, 2004
• Ph.D., University of California – Berkeley, Political Science, 2009
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, 2009-2010

• Associate Professor, Koç University, Department of International Relations, 2015-present
• Assistant Professor, Koç University, Department of International Relations, 2009-2015
• Visiting Lecturer, Harvard University, Department of Government, Spring 2010

• Email: sakturk@ku.edu.tr
• Phone: +90-212-338-1460
• Web of Science Researcher ID
• ORCID
• Scopus ID
• Google Scholar

Summary

Sener Akturk is a scholar of comparative politics broadly defined, with a focus on comparative politics of ethnicity, religion, and nationalism, especially in Germany, Russia, and Turkey. He developed the typology of three “regimes of ethnicity” (monoethnic, antiethnic, and multiethnic), and a theory of “ethnic regime change” in his book, Regimes of Ethnicity and Nationhood in Germany, Russia, and Turkey (Cambridge University Press, 2012), which received the 2013 Joseph Rothschild book prize. While writing on German, Russian, and Turkish politics primarily, Akturk has also published on identity politics in Afghanistan, Algeria, Austria, Greece, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, and Central Asia. He is currently working on a handbook on state policies toward ethnic and religious diversity in 172 countries with a population over quarter million, which is the result of a global expert survey he conducted on fifteen state policies around the world between 2010 and 2014. He is also working on several projects related to religion and nationalism; the representation of Muslim minorities in European politics; Jewish intellectuals’ contributions to Turkish nationalism; and the political consequences of Greek-Turkish population exchange.

Selected Publications

Books

• Regimes of Ethnicity and Nationhood in Germany, Russia, and Turkey. New York: Cambridge University Press (Problems of International Politics), 2012.
• Türkiye’nin Kimlikleri: Din, Dil, Etnisite, Milliyet, Devlet ve Medeniyet. Istanbul: Etkileşim, 2013.

Articles in Web of Science (formerly ISI) Journals

• “Religion and Nationalism: Contradictions of Islamic Origins and Secular Nation-Building in Turkey, Algeria, and Pakistan.” Social Science Quarterly 96, no. 3 (2015): 778-806.
  DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.12191
• “Fourth Style of Politics: Eurasianism as a Pro-Russian Rethinking of Turkey’s Geopolitical Identity.” Turkish Studies 16, no. 01 (2015): 54-79.
  DOI: 10.1080/14683849.2015.1021246
• “NATO Neden Genişledi? Uluslararası İlişkiler Kuramları Işığında NATO’nun Genişlemesi ve ABD-Rusya İç Siyaseti.” Uluslararası İlişkiler 9, no. 34 (2012): 73-97.
  Direct Link
• “Regimes of Ethnicity: Comparative Analysis of Germany, the Soviet Union/Post-Soviet Russia, and Turkey.” World Politics 63, no. 01 (2011): 115-164.
  DOI: 10.1017/S0043887110000304
• “Passport Identification and Nation-Building in Post-Soviet Russia.” Post-Soviet Affairs 26, no. 04 (2010): 314-341.
  DOI: 10.2747/1060-586X.26.4.314
• “Persistence of the Islamic Millet as an Ottoman Legacy: Mono-Religious and Anti-Ethnic Definition of Turkish Nationhood.” Middle Eastern Studies 45, no. 6 (2009): 913-929.
  DOI: 10.1080/00263200903294229
• “Incompatible Visions of Supra-nationalism: National Identity in Turkey and the European Union.” European Journal of Sociology 48, no. 02 (2007): 347-72.
  DOI: 10.1017/S0003975607000409

Awards

• Kadir Has Gelecek Vadeden Bilim İnsanı Ödülü, 2015
• Joseph Rothschild Book Prize, best book in ethnicity and nationalism, 2013
• Marie Curie International Reintegration Grant (100,000 Euros), 2010-2014
• Baki Komsuoğlu Social Sciences Encouragement Award, 2011
• Sakıp Sabancı International Research Award (3rd place), 2010
• Teaching Effectiveness Award, Graduate Council, University of California, Berkeley, 2009
• Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor, University of California, Berkeley, 2009
• Peter H. Odegard Award, Department of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley, 2006
• Vehbi Koç Award, Koç Özel Lisesi, 1996

Books