Hande Paker is a political sociologist based at the Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences at Bahcesehir University.
She has carried out research and written in various outlets (e.g., Environmental Politics, Theory and Society, Radikal2, Perspectives) on modes of civil society-state relations, politics of the environment at the local-global nexus, and grounded cosmopolitan citizenship, with a particular focus on environmental struggles and women’s rights. She has worked on the relations and effectiveness of environmental organizations in Turkey supported by a TUBITAK grant. Another strand of research has focused on gender inequality in relation to which she was recently a research associate in the TUBİTAK project on “The analysis of labor force participation decisions of high school and university graduate women in Turkey.”
As a Mercator-IPC Fellow, she aims to analyze how environmental civil society actors engage the issue of climate change to mobilize publics by focusing on local and transnational environmental spaces of action.
Paker holds a PhD from McGill University, Canada. She received her MA from McGill University as well and her BA from Boğaziçi University.
Pandemic, Climate, Society
As Istanbul Policy Center, from the beginning of 2020, when the COVID-19 epidemic began, we organized numerous panels on the web, where the situation of the world, societies, and individuals under the epidemic conditions was evaluated. We would like to share our book titled 'Pandemic, Climate, Society' prepared from these panels: We discussed the economic and social effects of the epidemic in the world, especially in the European Union and Turkey, starting from the very first days. Most participants think that there is a lot we can learn from this experience and that we need to mobilize this experience towards a just world order to cope with future epidemics and ecological crises. We are publishing this book at a point where we leave the epidemic behind with the discovery and application of the vaccine. For us, the great success of the last two years belongs to science, doctors, health workers, and scientists around the world. We would like to thank our listeners who followed our panels and guided our work with their suggestions and all our speakers who contributed, especially Ayşe Köse Badur and Semih Sökmen, who prepared this work for publication.
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Practicing Coexistence in Civil Society: Syrian Refugees in Turkey
2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellow Hande Paker’s report Practicing Coexistence in Civil Society: Syrian Refugees in Turkey was published in June 2019.
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Promises and Challenges of Diversity: The Role of Civil Society Initiatives in Fostering Pluralism
Director Fuat Keyman, Trent University Faculty Member Feyzi Baban, 2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellow Hande Paker, and the Associate Director of the International Migration Research Centre Kim Rygiel's report Promises and Challenges of Diversity: The Role of Civil Society Initiatives in Fostering Pluralism was published in October 2018.
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Syrians in Turkey
2017/18 Mercator-IPC Fellows Souad Osseiran and Gabriele Cloeters, 2016/17 Mercator-IPC Fellows Emre Üçkardeşler, Kristen Biehl, and Wiebke Hohberger, and 2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellow Hande Paker's booklet Syrians in Turkey was published in October 2018.
Developing models for integrating refugees into society is one of the subtopics under the EU/German-Turkish relations cluster of the Mercator-IPC Fellowship Program. To this end, the “Syrians in Turkey” booklet presents a snapshot of the current situation of Syrians in Turkey and the policy responses that have been implemented since the start of their arrival. The contributing Mercator-IPC Fellows, bring the issue into focus through six policy areas: healthcare, education, labor, gender-based aspects, civil society, and social cohesion.
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Cosmopolitan Democracy Revisited in a World of Rising Populism, Deepening Polarization and Rampant Neoliberalism
2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellow Hande Paker‘s report Cosmopolitan Democracy Revisited in a World of Rising Populism, Deepening Polarization and Rampant Neoliberalism was published in July 2017.
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Salgın ve Toplum - "Paris Anlaşması'nın 5. Yılında COVID-19 Pandemisi ve İklim Krizi"
22 December 2020
Welcoming of the 2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellows
We welcome our 2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellows, Christiane Fröhlich, Defne Kadıoğlu Polat, Çetin Çelik, Peter Mock, Hande Paker and İlke Toygür.
Christiane Fröhlich | Climate Change and Migration
Defne Kadıoğlu Polat | A Tale of Two Gentrifying Cities: Berlin and Istanbul
Çetin Çelik | Comparing School Opportunity Structures in Turkey and Germany
Peter Mock | Crossing the Bridge: Policies for Clean Vehicles in Turkey and Germany
Hande Paker | Politics of Climate Change at the Crossroads of Local and Transnational
İlke Toygür | Political Parties and Elections in Turkey and Europe: Challenge for Democracy?
Cosmopolitan Democracy Revisited in a World of Rising Populism, Deepening Polarization and Rampant Neoliberalism
2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellow Hande Paker convened a conference titled “Cosmopolitan Democracy Revisited in a World of Rising Populism, Deepening Polarization and Rampant Neoliberalism” on October 24-25, 2016 at IPC.
"Nasıl bir Dünya? Nasıl bir Türkiye?" with Özlem Ece and Hande Paker
Özlem Ece and Hande Paker were hosted by Pelin Oğuz at the 108th episode of "Nasıl Bir Dünya? Nasıl Bir Türkiye?" program titled "Culture and Art for Ecological Transformation" organized by the IPC-Sabancı University-Stiftung Mercator Initiative in cooperation with Medyascope.
Please click here to watch the event.
Panel Discussion on “Syrians in Turkey” & Report Launch of “The Role of Civil Society in Fostering Pluralism”
The Initiative organized a panel discussion on “Syrians in Turkey” and the report launch of “The Role of Civil Society in Fostering Pluralism” on December 21, 2018 at IPC Karaköy.
Syrians in Turkey
The booklet Syrians in Turkey authored by 2017/18 Mercator-IPC Fellows Souad Osseiran and Gabriele Cloeters, 2016/17 Mercator-IPC Fellows Emre Üçkardeşler, Kristen Biehl, and Wiebke Hohberger, and 2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellow Hande Paker, was launched with the moderation of IPC Senior Scholar and Research and Academic Affairs Coordinator Senem Aydın-Düzgit on Monday, October 8, 2018 at Salon IKSV.
Climate Café Talks 3 – Climate Movements in Turkey and the World
As the third event in the Climate Café Talks series, 2016/17 Mercator-IPC Fellow Hande Paker and Baran Alp Uncu’s talks on “Climate Movements in Turkey and the World (Türkiye ve Dünyada İklim Hareketleri)” took place on April 4, 2018 at IPC Karaköy.
Please click here for more information about the Climate Cafe Talks.
Challenges and Promises of Diversity: Refugee Policies and Citizenship Politics
A public forum titled “Challenges and Promises of Diversity: Refugee Policies and Citizenship Politics (Çeşitlilik Mücadeleleri ve Vaatleri: Mülteci ve Vatandaşlık Politikaları)” was convened at Mercator Centre Berlin on March 16, 2018. The forum brought together academics and civil society groups interested in issues around fostering diversity and pluralism and opening up communities to newcomers.
Living with Others: Fostering Cultural Pluralism through Citizenship Politics
A workshop on “Living with Others: Fostering Cultural Pluralism through Citizenship Politics” was conducted at Humboldt University on March 15, 2018. The workshop brought together academics and civil society groups interested in issues around fostering diversity and pluralism and opening up communities to newcomers.
Cosmopolitan Democracy Revisited in a World of Rising Populism, Deepening Polarization and Rampant Neoliberalism
2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellow Hande Paker convened a conference titled “Cosmopolitan Democracy Revisited in a World of Rising Populism, Deepening Polarization and Rampant Neoliberalism” on October 24-25, 2016 at IPC.
Civil Society and Climate Change Workshop II: Different Approaches to Climate Change and Common Solutions
2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellow Hande Paker convened the Civil Society and Climate Change Workshop II on “Different Approaches to Climate Change and Common Solutions (İklim Meselesine Farklı Yaklaşımlar, Ortak Çözümler)” on May 15, 2016 at IPC.
Civil Society and Climate Change Workshop: Ecology Struggle in Turkey at the Local Level and Beyond
2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellow Hande Paker convened the Civil Society and Climate Change Workshop on “Ecology Struggle in Turkey at the Local Level and Beyond” on May 16, 2016 at Ege University, İzmir.
After the Paris Treaty: Anti-Coal Struggles in Turkey
2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellow Hande Paker and Political Economist and Member of Political Ecology Working Group and Ekoloji Kolektifi Bengi Akbulut spoke at the seminar titled “After the Paris Treaty: Anti-Coal Struggles in Turkey” on March 31, 2016 at IPC.
2015 Paris Climate Summit – Observations from COP21
IPC-Sabancı University-Stiftung Mercator Initiative organized a panel titled “2015 Paris Climate Summit- Observations from COP21″ on December 15, 2015 at IPC. IPC Climate Studies Coordinator Ümit Şahin, 2014/15 Mercator-IPC Fellow Ethemcan Turhan, 2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellow Hande Paker and CDP Turkey Project Manager Mirhan Köroğlu Göğüş analyzed Turkey’s official position, the negotiation process and Paris Agreement at COP21.
Istanbul Climate Forum
IPC-Sabancı University-Stiftung Mercator Initiative took part at Istanbul Climate Forum (İstanbul İklim Forumu) which was held on November 12-13, 2015 at Boğaziçi University, Garanti Cultural Center.
Welcoming of the 2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellows
The Welcoming of the 2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellows was held on October 5, 2015 at Feriye Restaurant. The event began with welcoming remarks by Fuat Keyman, followed by remarks from Rüdiger Frohn. The welcoming remarks were followed by a movie screening that introduced the 2015/16 Mercator-IPC Fellows Christiane Fröhlich, Defne Kadıoğlu Polat, Çetin Çelik, Peter Mock, Hande Paker and İlke Toygür.
Understanding the Challenges of Energy-Society Relations: The European Energy Scene vs. the Turkish Boom From a Societal Metabolism Perspective
IPC-Sabancı University-Stiftung Mercator Initiative convened a talk by Alevgül Şorman on “Understanding the Challenges of Energy-Society Relations: The European Energy Scene vs. the Turkish Boom From a Societal Metabolism Perspective” on February 5, 2015 at IPC. The event was initiated by Mercator-IPC Fellow Ethemcan Turhan.
