Fuat Keyman
Honorary DirectorFuat Keyman is the Director of the Istanbul Policy Center; Vice President for Institutional Affairs and Social Impact, and Professor of International Relations at Sabancı University. Keyman is a leading political scientist in Turkey and an expert on globalization, democratization, international relations, Turkey – EU relations, Turkish foreign policy, and civil society development. He is a member of the Turkish Science Academy. In 2013, he was awarded the Strategic Vision Award for Scientists by TASAM (Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies). He has worked as a member on the Council of Wise People as part of the Peace Process to the Kurdish issue. He also serves on advisory and editorial boards for a number of respected international and national organizations as well as for academic journals. Additionally, he is a member of the scientific advisory boards for Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP) and The Global Centre for Pluralism. He has been the research director for various projects, such as Peter Berger and Samuel Huntington’s Many Globalizations; Strengthening Checks and Balances in Turkey, SIDA, Sweden; Enacting European Citizenship, European Council Framework 7 Project; Mapping Civil Society in Turkey, CIVICUS; and received a prestigious grant on urbanization from the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey. Since 2002, as well as his academic work, Keyman has been sharing his ideas and analysis of Turkey in a global context through various newspaper columns and TV programs.
He is the author and editor of more nearly thirty books, including Future Politics - Globalization, State, Democracy, and Identity (with Evren Balta, 2022); Sekiz Kentin Hikayesi (with Berrin Koyuncu-Lorasdağı, 2020); Kurdish Problem: Local Dynamics and Conflict Resolution (with Ayşe Köse, 2019); Istanbul: Living with Difference in a Global City (with Nora Fisher-Onar and Susan C. Pearce, 2018), Turkey, The Arab Spring and Beyond (with Bülent Aras, 2016), Global Turkey in Europe 3: Democracy, Trade, and the Kurdish Question in Turkey-EU Relations (2015), Democracy, Identity and Foreign Policy in Turkey (with Şebnem Gümüşçü, 2014); Global Turkey in Europe 2: Energy, Migration, Civil Society and Citizenship Issues in Turkey-EU Relations (2014); Global Turkey in Europe: Political, Economic, and Foreign Policy Dimensions of Turkey’s Evolving Relationship with the EU (2013); Remaking Turkey (in Turkish, 2013); Symbiotic Antagonisms: Competing Nationalisms in Turkey (with Ayşe Kadıoğlu, 2011); Cities: The Transformation of Anatolia, the Future of Turkey (2010); Competing Nationalism in Turkey (2010), Turkey in a Globalizing World (2010); Remaking Turkey, Globalization, Alternative Modernities and Democracy (2008); Turkish Politics in a Changing World (with Ziya Öniş, 2007), Citizenship in a Global World: European Questions and Turkish Experiences (2005); Changing World, Transforming Turkey (2005); Globalization, State, Identity/Difference: Toward a Critical Social Theory of International Relations (1997). Keyman has also authored numerous articles published in prestigious, peer-reviewed international journals such as Journal of Democracy, Third World Quarterly, European Journal of Social Theory, Theory Culture & Society, and Review of International Political Economy, Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies.
Prior to joining Sabancı University, Keyman taught in the Department of International Relations at Koç University between 2002 and 2010, and in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Bilkent University between 1994 and 2002. He was also Visiting Professor at Carleton University in the summer of 1997. Keyman holds several post-doctoral fellowships from Wellesley College and Harvard University He received his PhD in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations and Comparative Politics from Carleton University. He completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey.
IPC – Sabancı University – Stiftung Mercator Initiative Inaugural Event
On February 1, 2012, after months of hard work and planning, the partnership between Istanbul Policy Center (IPC) and Stiftung Mercator officially kicked off with an intellectually stimulating discussion on “Policy Challenges for Turkey and the EU: A 2012 Perspective.” The event, at the Sakıp Sabancı Museum in Istanbul, highlighted the IPC-Sabancı University-Stiftung Mercator Initiative, the heart of the partnership, which focuses on three core thematic areas of cooperation: climate change, EU/German-Turkish relations, and education. The event opened with the warm welcoming remarks from Güler Sabancı, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Sabancı University, who emphasized the importance of the Initiative for the future of Turkish-German relations. Nihat Berker, President of Sabancı University, spoke next, and stressed the significance of the German-Turkish youth exchange programs co-organized by Stiftung Mecator and Sabancı University. Fuat Keyman, Director of IPC, combined both sentiments in stating that “this partnership will be built on the subjects of living together, social policies, and climate change. We want to contribute to the NGOs especially on the subject of climate change, and provide scholarships for the young scholars who are immersed in the three core areas of the Initiative. We will hold comparative studies on climate change, renewable energy, and contemporary trends of the urban transformation in key German and Turkish cities.”
The International Conference on the Role of Think Tanks in Policy Formation
Senior Expert Korel Göymen organized the International Conference on the Role of Think Tanks in Policy Formation in Istanbul on November 18-19, 2011. Director Fuat Keyman participated in a panel on the status of think tanks in Turkey, while Senior Experts Ersin Kalaycıoğlu and Ahmet Evin moderated sessions throughout the event. During the conference, various topics were discussed, ranging from good governance in Turkey to the role of think tanks as agents of change in pluralistic societies. Various panels and conferences were held with the participation of representatives of civil society from Turkey and Europe.
Cengiz Aktar: The Ecumenical Patriarchate from a Historical, Political, Religious, and Legal Perspective
On May 24, 2011, IPM hosted the launch of the book The Ecumenical Patriarchate from Historical, Political, Religious, and Legal Perspectives, edited by Bahçeşehir University faculty member Cengiz Aktar. Among the many publications written about the Patriarchate in Turkey with propaganda purposes, this work stands out for its objectivity and its attempt to dispel existing conceptual misunderstandings on the subject. Following the opening speech by Director Fuat Keyman, guest speaker Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I delivered a short address. Later, in a panel chaired by Cengiz Aktar, researchers and experts such as Elçin Macar, Paraskevas Konortas, Samim Akgönül, Kürşat Demirci, Emre Öktem, and Cem Sofuğlu shared their work and thoughts on the subject.
