EN | TR

İstanbul Politikalar Merkezi Bankalar Cad. No: 2 Minerva Han 34420 Karaköy, İstanbul Türkiye    |    +90 212 292 49 39   |   ipc@sabanciuniv.edu - ipc.sabanciuniv.edu

YOHANAN BENHAIM icon down
Yohanan Benhaim
Yohanan Benhaim
2018/19 Mercator-IPC Fellow

Yohanan Benhaim is a PhD candidate in political science at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University specializing in foreign policy. In his PhD dissertation, he explores the evolution of Turkish foreign policy toward the Kurdish regions in Iraq and Syria (1990–2017). Between 2012 and 2016, Benhaim conducted field research in Ankara, Diyarbakır, and Erbil. His research focuses on the transformation of civil-military relations and on the role of private actors in the foreign policy making process. Benhaim is also the co-founder and co-director of Noria, a think tank based on a community of researchers specialized in international politics. He is an associate researcher at the Center for Turkish, Ottoman, Balkanic, and Centrasiatic Studies (CETOBAC, EHESS) and at the French Institute for Anatolian Studies (IFEA, Istanbul). He teaches at Sciences-Po Paris and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University.

Project: “A trading state in uniform? The Economic Dimension of Turkey’s Foreign Policy in Syria and Iraq and its Impact on Turkey-EU Relations”

In the late 2000s, the development of good relations between Ankara and the Kurdish Regional Government of Iraq illustrated the rising importance of economic considerations within Turkish foreign policy. However, since the beginning of the Syrian civil war and the renewal of Turkey’s war with the PKK in 2015, this picture has dramatically changed as Turkey has been conducting several military operations in both Iraq and Syria. The economic dimension of Turkish foreign policy in this region is not only impacting the regional structure of the economy and trade, but it is also reconfiguring the activities of businessmen and political actors at the local level in Turkey.

Within this context, this research project aims at identifying the economic foundations of this transborder policy as well as the way in which this policy contributes to the emergence of a coherent economic space between Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. This research examines the state’s economic action in Turkey’s neighborhood, the restructuration of the regional economy, and the transformation of businessmen’s associations and individual practices.

Welcoming of the 2018/19 Mercator-IPC Fellows

We welcome our 2018/19 Mercator-IPC Fellows, Cem İskender Aydın, Annegret Warth, Jannes Tessmann, Ender Peker, Maissam Nimer, Yohanan Benhaim, and Joanna Krzeminska.

Cem İskender Aydın | Assessing Multi-level Governance Using Participatory Multi-criteria Evaluation Frameworks: The Case of Windfarm Conflicts in Turkey

Annegret Warth | Municipalities as Actors of Youth Exchange?! An Exemplary Case Analysis of Youth Work and Local Governance Structures in Turkey

Jannes Tessmann | Multi-scalar Labor Governance in EU-Turkey Garment Value Chains: Challenges and Potentials for Workplace Integration of Refugees

Ender Peker | Producing Actionable Knowledge to Achieve Climate Responsive Urban Development in Turkey

Maissam Nimer | Access of Syrian Refugee Adults to Language Instruction

Yohanan Benhaim | Turkish Business People and the War in Iraq: Impacts and Prospects in Trade and Construction Sectors

Joanna Krzeminska | Refugees and Elementary School in Istanbul - Inclusion of Young Refugees through Cultural Education

Welcoming of the 2018/19 Mercator-IPC Fellows

The Welcoming of the 2018/19 Mercator-IPC Fellows was held on October 8, 2018 at Salon IKSV.  The event marked the seventh cycle of the Mercator-IPC Fellowship Program of the IPC-Sabancı University-Stiftung Mercator Initiative.

The event began with welcoming remarks by Director Fuat Keyman, followed by remarks from the Chairman of the Advisory Board at Stiftung Mercator, Rüdiger Frohn. The welcoming remarks were followed by a movie screening that introduced 2018/19 Mercator-IPC Senior Fellows Atila Eralp and Özcan Mutlu and the 2018/19 Mercator-IPC Fellows Annegret Warth, Cem İskender Aydın, Ender Peker, Jannes Tessmann, Joanna Krzeminska, Maissam Nimer, and Yohanan Benhaim.