Seren Selvin Korkmaz is the co-founder and co-director of the IstanPol Institute, where she served as the founding executive director until November 2023. A political scientist by training, Korkmaz completed her PhD at Stockholm University, where she is also a researcher at the Institute for Turkish Studies.

Korkmaz was a 2023 Marshall Memorial Fellow of the German Marshall Fund. She has held positions as a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington D.C., Fox International Fellow at Yale University, and research fellow at the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul. She served as the Turkey director for the Political and Social Research Institute of Europe (PS:EUROPE), an institute she co-founded, based in Austria and Turkey. 

She teaches at Stockholm University. Her research interests include populism, political parties, voter perception, election strategies, autocratization, and youth studies. Korkmaz is currently a member of several working groups on Turkey-EU relations, Turkey-U.S. relations, and the future of democracy, and is a frequent political commentator in Turkish and international media. As a political analyst and advisor, she works with international and domestic actors on a wide range of issues, with a focus on internal Turkish political dynamics.

Metropolitan Bridges: Strengthening Turkish-German Urban Alliances Through City Diplomacy

This project aims to foster collaboration between cities in Turkey and Germany, with a focus on sustainable urban development and inclusive governance. Recognizing that cities are central to addressing global challenges such as economic inequality, climate change, and public health, this project explores how new aspects of city diplomacy can contribute to these efforts. As city diplomacy gains momentum and efforts to implement it expand, there is a growing need for a comprehensive and needs-based framework. The project has a dual focus: first, to identify the key challenges and areas for cooperation in Turkey's metropolitan cities; and second, to draw upon the experiences of German cities in addressing common challenges and proposing solutions. By generating a comprehensive needs map, creating tailored policy agendas, and convening city diplomacy meetings, the project aims to promote mutual learning and collaboration. Additionally, the project emphasizes the importance of inclusivity by engaging women and youth organizations in the policymaking process.