Welcome!

I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. I study political violence, civil conflict processes, conflict management and resolution with a particular focus on local peacemaking. My dissertation examines the determinants and consequences of local peace agreements between violent actors and communities in civil wars. My dissertation project is part of a larger substantive research that seeks to understand the role of civilians in conflict management, local peacemaking, and relationship between external intervention and conflict duration. I am also interested in the development and application of quantitative methods and use text-as-data, time-series analysis, survival analysis, and spatial analysis in my research.

Previously, I received my BA in Political Science and International Relations in 2017 at Bogazici University and MA in International Relations in 2019 at Koc University, Turkey. I received my MA in Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh in 2021 with specializations in International Relations and Political Methodology. I expect to receive my PhD in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh in 2025.

Please contact me at mek200@pitt.edu.

Research

Under Review

[1] A Rebel with a Sanction: UN Sanctions against Non-state Armed Groups and Civil Conflict Duration (with Omer Zarpli)

Working Papers

[1] Mitigating Violence Locally: The Effects of Local Agreements on Violence in Civil Wars [Draft Available Upon Request]

[2] The Logic of Local Agreements in Civil Wars

[3] Peace or Retribution? The Role of Warfare on Public Opinion Toward Peace in Colombia

[4] Child Recruitment and Rebel Groups' Legitimacy Seeking in Civil Wars (with Isil Idrisoglu and Rebecca Cordell)

[5] International Rival, Military Intervention, and Duration of Civil War (with Jungmin Han)

Teaching

My teaching interests focus on international relations, international law and institutions, conflict, peacekeeping and peacemaking.

Instructor of Record

  • [Spring 2025] Visualizing and Understanding Social Data, University of Pittsburgh
  • [Summer 2024] International Relations, University of Pittsburgh
  • [Summer 2023] International Law, University of Pittsburgh
  • [Summer 2022] International Relations, University of Pittsburgh

    • Guest Lecturer

  • [Fall 2023] Civil Wars, “Civilians in Civil Conflict”, University of Pittsburgh
  • [Fall 2021] Civil Wars, “Participation and Recruitment", University of Pittsburgh

    • Teaching Fellow

  • [Fall 2020] International Relations, University of Pittsburgh
  • [Spring 2021] International Relations, University of Pittsburgh

    • Teaching Assistant

  • [Summer 2018] Intro to International Relations, Koc University
  • [Spring 2018] Terrorism, Insurgency, and World Politics, Koc University
  • [Fall 2017] International Relations Capstone, Koc University
  • [Spring 2017] Intro to Turkish Politics, Bogazici University

    • CV