معرفی
Dr Zeynep Kaya is a Lecturer in International Relations at the School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations, University of Sheffield. She holds a PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics (LSE) and has held positions at LSE and Pembroke College, University of Cambridge.
- PhD in International Relations, London School of Economics (LSE)
Her research adopts an international historical sociology approach, focusing on territoriality, borderlands, and political legitimacy in the Middle East. She examines how these concepts evolve alongside international norms, particularly in relation to non-state actors like the Kurds in the Ottoman Empire and contemporary ex-Ottoman territories. A secondary research theme explores peacebuilding, conflict, and development policies on gender, minorities, and displacement in Iraq, contextualized within long-term historical frameworks.
Recent publications include the monograph Mapping Kurdistan: Territory, Self-Determination and Nationalism (Cambridge University Press, 2020) and articles analyzing autocratization in Turkey, sexual violence against Yezidis, and displacement dynamics in the Middle East. Her work spans interdisciplinary themes of conflict studies, gender, and non-state actor agency.
Scientific Awards and Grants:
- HEIF Knowledge Exchange & Impact Fund (£27K) for UK’s gender practice in aid and security (2022)
- British Academy grant (£5K) on post-conflict emergency rule in Turkey (2020-2021)
- DFID Conflict Research Programme (£6M) as named lead researcher (2017-2020)
- British Council Researcher Links (£32K) on displacement and human security in Turkey (2018-2019)
- Rockefeller Fund (£6K) on disaster resilience in Iraq and Nepal (2016-2017)
Dr Kaya supervises research projects on borders, nationalism, Kurdish politics, non-state actors, and gender in international politics of the Middle East. She co-founded the I.B. Tauris-Bloomsbury Kurdish Studies Book Series and served as a Specialist Adviser to the UK Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee (2017-2018).
