Banu Akdenizli

Banu Akdenizli is an Associate Professor of Communication at Northwestern University in Qatar. She holds a PhD in Media and Communication from Temple University and previously taught at Yeditepe University in Istanbul. Her research focuses on digital diplomacy, GCC media systems, and citizen journalism practices in Turkey, with a strong emphasis on the intersection of technology and political communication. She has served as a research fellow at the USC Annenberg Center on Public Diplomacy (2016–2018) and received the Fellowship for Exceptional Service from NU-Q (2022–2024).

Education:

• PhD in Media and Communication, Temple University
• MA in Translation Studies, Boğaziçi University
• BA in Sociology, Boğaziçi University

Research Interests:

• Digital diplomacy strategies in crisis environments
• Social media's role in GCC foreign policy
• Information warfare dynamics in the Gulf
• Turkish media landscape analysis
• Public diplomacy frameworks in non-Western contexts

Awards:

• Northwestern University Qatar Fellowship for Exceptional Service (2022–2024)
• USC Annenberg Public Diplomacy Research Fellowship (2016–2018)
• Qatar National Research Fund Grant (2018)

Grants & Projects:

• Northwestern University Qatar Internal Scholarly Research Grant (2018)
• Undergraduate Research Experience Program funding (2018)

Labs/Teams: Active in the Artificial Intelligence and Media Lab at NU-Q, focusing on digital diplomacy applications.