This course aims to explore key debates and a wide range of topics in global politics. Among the themes to be investigated are the question of revolution in politics, the political theory of civil disobedience, the concept of state sovereignty, conceptions of genocide, theories of cosmopolitanism, secularism, and political ecology.

This seminar course involves a critical investigation of the classic texts of political philosophy and aims to explore some of the central concepts and controversies in the history of political thought. The course is also intended to be accessible to graduate students at any level with an interest in political theory. To this end, the course will examine some primary texts from the history of political thought as avenues for understanding both key concepts of politics (such as justice, freedom, equality, democracy, citizenship) and some contemporary schools and approaches in the field of political theory (such as liberalism, republicanism, critical theory and hermeneutics).

In this course Turkey’s relations with the EU will be analyzed in regards to its various dimensions such as security, economic and social. Historical, legal, institutional and international contextual perspectives will be discussed for explaining each dimension.

This course will focus on the EU's relations with third countries from security, social and economic perspectives. Each perspective will emphasize the historical and instutional aspects of foreign policy making.

European Diplomatic History focuses on nations, states, politics, decision-makers and their interactions and conflicts through the ages on the “old continent” of Europe. European Diplomatic History classes cover the period of 1492-1991 in international relations.

The aim of this seminar is to understand the milestones of the European integration process, the key features of the EU’s institutional architecture and the factors which have contributed to the establishment, shape and evolution of the political system and the policies of the EU. The course comprises the following aspects: (1) an overview of the history of the EU (basic treaties and treaty revisions), (2) an overview of the main institutions of the EU (Council of Ministers/European Council, European Commission, European Parliament), the interinstitutional power relations among them, and their role vis-à-vis the domestic level, (3) an overview of European integration theories and theories of policy making, (4) an application of these theories and concepts in a selection of policy areas in which the EU has been most involved in.

The course is designed as to refine student’s training in the theoretical field of European studies through familiarisation with political developments in the EU neighbourhood. The focus of the course is on the developments related to the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The students are expected (1) to read the assignments, (2) get involved in the debates on the course themes, (3) produce analytical work on the basis of the information provided throughout the course, and (4) present that analytical work in class.

Topics to be covered include political culture, civil society, political leaders, and tribulations of democracy in Turkey.

The introduction to the course would be made through a brief overview of the conceptual foundations of international relations and the notion of security. Since the students are presumed to have already acquainted themselves with the theoretical assumptions and theoretical aspects during previous phases of their education, the focus of the course would rapidly shift toward some of the contemporary issues of international and conventional security.

The course refines the students’ training in political science and international relations through the analytical exploration of minority politics with a focus on European developments. That is mainly because the emergence and subsequent evolution of minority rights cannot be separated from the modern European political history. The two World Wars in particular have marked the evolution of European states and of their understanding of ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities. As a result, Europe represents nowadays a space where inter-ethnic politics has become highly complex, with international organisations such as the Council of Europe, OSCE and the EU being deeply involved. The students are expected to (1) read the assignments, (2) participate in seminars (3) present individual research projects, and (4) write analytical essays on the individual research projects (IRPs).

Students discuss the structure and dynamics of public opinion around the world.

This advanced course examines the capacity of states to meet their economic and political foreign policy goals. Furthermore, it critically evaluates the relationship between human rights, foreign policy, and diplomacy.

The focus of the course would be some of the current issues and debates of international relations. The methodology of the course will be lecturer’s explanations intermingled with class discussions.

The course consists of the following aspects: (1) Overview of migration theories (2) Overview of different migration movements: labour migration, refugees, irregular migration (3) Analysis of national and international migration management (4) Overview of different integration concepts (5) Analysis of socioeconomic and cultural aspects of integration

The course will begin with a historical overview of the remapping of the Middle East. In addition a comparative historical analysis will help to locate the Middle East within the larger world historical context. Finally, a review of contemporary developments in world politics will provide information on major conceptual issues such as Orientalism, the rise of political Islam, Islamophobia and more.

Special attention will be paid to the evolution of major political thoughts as liberalism, conservatism, nationalism, islamism, socialism and feminism.

Issues such as representation, political participation, women’s, men’s and LGBT organizations, development, and economic distribution will be addressed from a gendered point of view. A comparison of different countries will also be made to give students insight into the developed vs developing world when it comes to gender.

Caucasus in world politics classes analyze the demographic, political and economic dynamics of the Caucasian isthmus, with a particular emphasis on the regional powers’ foreign policies towards the region.

By following a chronological line, we are going to examine the interactions between the artistic sphere and politics in the framework of the topics such as modernization, nation-building, nationalism, World Wars, dictatorships, ideologies, Cold War, late-industrialization, identity politics, globalization and transnationalism.

This advanced course is designed to investigate the dynamics of the sustainable energy policy design in a contemporary fashion.