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Şener Aktürk

@senerakturk.bsky.social
484 followers 161 following 96 posts

Author of "Not So Innocent: Clerics, Monarchs, and the Ethnoreligious Cleansing of Western Europe.” Professor at Koç University. Comparative Politics; Nationalism; Religion; Regimes of Ethnicity; History of Ideas; Grand Strategy. www.senerakturk.com

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International Security @intsecurity.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
The Summer 2026 issue is online! Read articles by @stephenwalt.bsky.social, Mearsheimer, Cederman et al (incl. @andijot.bsky.social, @jwucherpfennig.bsky.social), Sanchez. Plus letters to the editor on studying what China wants. direct.mit.edu/isec/issue/5... @mitpress.bsky.social
direct.mit.edu
Volume 51 Issue 1 | International Security | MIT Press
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
We are hiring! "Koç University invites applications for a full-time Assistant Professor position in International Relations, starting in September 2027." Details and the link of the online application form can be found in the position announcement below: www.ku.edu.tr/en/open_posi...
ku.edu.tr
Faculty Position in International Relations - Koç Üniversitesi
Assistant Professor position in International RelationsThe College of Administrative Sciences and Economics at Koç University invites applications for a full-time Assistant Professor position in Inter...
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
We are hiring! "Koç University invites applications for a full-time Assistant Professor position in International Relations, starting in September 2027." Details and the link of the online application form can be found in the position announcement below: www.ku.edu.tr/en/open_posi...
ku.edu.tr
Faculty Position in International Relations - Koç Üniversitesi
Assistant Professor position in International RelationsThe College of Administrative Sciences and Economics at Koç University invites applications for a full-time Assistant Professor position in Inter...
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Our roundtable on "Remaking the Nation" at APSA 2026 was a tremendous success with a dozen scholars of nationalism from around the world attending in person, and immortalizing this event with a group photo! Thanks to Andreas, Harris, and Maya for organizing this global gathering @apsa.bsky.social
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
On the 25th anniversary of September 11th, I'm sharing my reflections, titled, "September 11, 1683: Myth of a Christian Europe and the Massacre in Norway," which I wrote for the 10th anniversary of September 11th, and published in Insight Turkey back in 2012. www.insightturkey.com/commentaries...
insightturkey.com
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
I look forward to presenting "Religious Clerics and the Hierocratic Path to Genocide" at our wonderful #APSA2026 panel on "How Religion Is Embedded in Politics" scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, September 3, from 2:00 to 3:30pm EDT, at Marriott, Salon D @apsa.bsky.social
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
I look forward to presenting "Religious Clerics and the Hierocratic Path to Genocide" at our wonderful #APSA2026 panel on "How Religion Is Embedded in Politics" scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, September 3, from 2:00 to 3:30pm EDT, at Marriott, Salon D @apsa.bsky.social
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Did you know that Charles Bronson was a descendent of the Lithuanian Tatars? They are "the Only Muslim Community That has Survived Under Catholic Rule in Europe since the Middle Ages." You can read a lot more about them in our new article @nationalitiesp.bsky.social www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
The Puzzle of the Lithuanian-Polish Tatars: The Only Muslim Community That has Survived Under Catholic Rule in Europe since the Middle Ages | Nationalities Papers | Cambridge Core
The Puzzle of the Lithuanian-Polish Tatars: The Only Muslim Community That has Survived Under Catholic Rule in Europe since the Middle Ages
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Jacqueline L. Hazelton @drjlhazelton.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Look for the great work in the new issue of @intsecurity.bsky.social, our first in our 50th anniversary year! @mitpress.bsky.social @belfercenter.bsky.social
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Amanda Pearson @pearson-edits.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Summer 2026 issue preview @intsecurity.bsky.social! 50th anniversary essay | @stephenwalt.bsky.social & J. Mearsheimer Lars-Erik Cederman et al. @ethz.ch | nationalist geopolitics E. Sanchez @ssp-mit.bsky.social l | emerging tech & transparent oceans Plus authors debate “What Does China Want?”
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 07/08/2026
Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a new pact on Friday committing to collective defense against attacks on any of the three nations, Saudi Arabia said, entering an agreement that could reshape the strategic layout of the Middle East.
nyti.ms
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan Sign Joint Defense Pact
The agreement treats an attack on any of the three countries as an attack on all. Saudi Arabia has recently faced drone and missile strikes that it has blamed on Iran’s allies in Yemen and Iraq.
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Andy Burnham became the first Catholic Prime Minister in British history! This may have been triggered by my publication of "Faith of the Sovereign" two years ago, stating that Britain only had Protestant PMs for over 300 years :) Read my article here: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Faith of the Sovereign: Constitutive Conflicts and the Three Paths of National Leadership for Religious Minority Politicians | Nationalities Papers | Cambridge Core
Faith of the Sovereign: Constitutive Conflicts and the Three Paths of National Leadership for Religious Minority Politicians
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Ed Schatz @edwardschatz.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Voilà, in which I exhort fellow scholars to use the term "decolonization" with precision. "Persistent Problems with 'Decolonization': Reflections on the Central Asian Example" @poppublicsphere.bsky.social doi.org/10.1017/S153...
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Did you know that Charles Bronson was a descendent of the Lithuanian Tatars? They are "the Only Muslim Community That has Survived Under Catholic Rule in Europe since the Middle Ages." You can read a lot more about them in our new article @nationalitiesp.bsky.social www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
The Puzzle of the Lithuanian-Polish Tatars: The Only Muslim Community That has Survived Under Catholic Rule in Europe since the Middle Ages | Nationalities Papers | Cambridge Core
The Puzzle of the Lithuanian-Polish Tatars: The Only Muslim Community That has Survived Under Catholic Rule in Europe since the Middle Ages
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
"Revived Islamophobic Narratives Pose Renewed Danger as Bosnia Commemorates the Srebrenica Genocide" www.justsecurity.org/146250/srebr...
justsecurity.org
31 Years On, Srebrenica Genocide Denial Resurges in Bosnia
Dehumanizing anti-Muslim rhetoric from Bosnian Serb leaders echoes wartime narratives and endangers Bosniaks today.
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
I'm thrilled to announce the publication of our article "The Puzzle of the Lithuanian-Polish Tatars: The Only Muslim Community That has Survived Under Catholic Rule in Europe since the Middle Ages" @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org @nationalitiesp.bsky.social Open Access www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
The Puzzle of the Lithuanian-Polish Tatars: The Only Muslim Community That has Survived Under Catholic Rule in Europe since the Middle Ages | Nationalities Papers | Cambridge Core
The Puzzle of the Lithuanian-Polish Tatars: The Only Muslim Community That has Survived Under Catholic Rule in Europe since the Middle Ages
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Cambridge University Press Political Science & IR @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org · 29/06/2026
#OpenAccess from @nationalitiesp.bsky.social - The Puzzle of the Lithuanian-Polish Tatars: The Only Muslim Community That has Survived Under Catholic Rule in Europe since the Middle Ages - cup.org/4gd0LDO - @senerakturk.bsky.social & Yury Katliarou #FirstView
Logo of Nationalities Papers, the Journal of Nationalism and Ethnicity, labeled as Open Access on a blue background.
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Richard Moore @richardmoore.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
After 9/11, he became interested in the similarities between the persecution of heretics in medieval Europe and the persecution of Muslims in the ‘War on Terror’. He explored this in his 2012 book The War on Heresy.
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Richard Moore @richardmoore.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
This was the subject of his 1987 book The Formation of a Persecuting Society, which, following its reissue 2007, was described by Madeleine Bunting in the Guardian as “one of the most influential and controversial books of medieval history of the last 20 years”.
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APSA @apsa.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Join APSA in #Boston! Catch discounted registration rates for the #APSA2026 Annual Meeting & Exhibition! Early Discounted Registration Ends July 1st. ➡️ Register to join scholars in Boston at the 2026 APSA Annual Meeting! buff.ly/NLVJhoH
buff.ly
Early Discounted Registration Rates End July 1 | 2026 APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition
Registration & Housing Now Open! Join political science scholars for the American Political Science Association‘s 122nd Annual Meeting & Exhibition in Boston, Massachusetts, September 3–6, 2026, to address the latest scholarship in political science and explore this year’s conference theme, “Democracy Under Threat: How to Understand, Protect, and Rebuild.”
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
R.IP. Carlo Ginzburg. "Microhistory pioneer Carlo Ginzburg, who gave voice to the marginalized, dies at 87" apnews.com/article/ital...
apnews.com
Microhistory pioneer Carlo Ginzburg, who gave voice to the marginalized, dies at 87
Carlo Ginzburg, a renowned Italian historian, has died at 87. The Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa announced his passing in Bologna on Wednesday.
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Photos from our wonderful Roundtable at the ASN Convention on May 29th, 2026, which was extremely well attended. How do nationalisms change? "Contestation and Change in Nationalisms" brought together Dominika Koter, Şener Aktürk, Maya Tudor and Harris Mylonas. Details: www.asnconvention.com/panel-n4
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Ariel Zellman @arielzellman.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
#polrel
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Exactly 2 years ago today, "Not So Innocent..." was published. It has been viewed more than 36,000 times so far at the International Security journal's website, with about 4,000 pdf downloads @intsecurity.bsky.social Thanks to everyone who made this possible! direct.mit.edu/isec/article...
direct.mit.edu
Not So Innocent: Clerics, Monarchs, and the Ethnoreligious Cleansing of Western Europe
Abstract. Sizeable Jewish and Muslim communities lived across large swathes of medieval Western Europe. But all the Muslim communities and almost all the Jewish communities in polities that correspond...
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
"Why did modern democracy originate in Western Europe?" You can read the answer to this momentous question in my article: "Religious Exclusion and the Origins of Democracy" It is Open Access; free to read, share, and teach! www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/rel... via @jodemocracy.bsky.social
journalofdemocracy.org
Religious Exclusion and the Origins of Democracy | Journal of Democracy
The most challenging type of diversity for democracy is religious diversity. This also helps explain why modern democracy first took root in Western Europe: Religiously homogenous populations went…
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
"Why did modern democracy originate in Western Europe?" You can read the answer to this momentous question in my article: "Religious Exclusion and the Origins of Democracy" It is Open Access; free to read, share, and teach! www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/rel... via @jodemocracy.bsky.social
journalofdemocracy.org
Religious Exclusion and the Origins of Democracy | Journal of Democracy
The most challenging type of diversity for democracy is religious diversity. This also helps explain why modern democracy first took root in Western Europe: Religiously homogenous populations went…
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The Max Planck Institute for Political and Social Science @mpips.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
We are deeply saddened by the passing of Mathias Koenig. He was a brilliant scholar and an exceptionally gentle and supportive colleague. Our heartfelt condolences go to his family and all who worked with him. He will be sorely missed.
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Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft @dfg.de · 19/01/2026
Die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft trauert um Prof. Matthias Koenig, der am 12. Januar im Alter von 54 Jahren verstorben ist. Bis Ende Dezember 2025 war er Vizepräsident der DFG. "Unser großes Mitgefühl gilt seiner Familie. Sein Andenken werden wir in Ehren halten", so Präsidentin Katja Becker.
schwarz-weiß Porträt von Prof. Matthias Koenig
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Last call! We are hiring: "Koç University invites applications for a full-time Assistant Professor position in International Relations with a focus on International Political Economy (IPE) starting in September 2026." Deadline--> January 15, 2026. Details: jobs.ku.edu.tr/open_positio...
jobs.ku.edu.tr
Faculty Position in International Relations | KU Jobs
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Hopkins Press @hopkinspress.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
"The most challenging type of diversity for democracy...has been religious diversity," writes Şener Aktürk in the latest @jodemocracy.bsky.social Read "Religious Exclusion and the Origins of Democracy" for free, gold #OpenAccess at @ProjectMUSE tinyurl.com/y4sbskcd
“Western Europe toward the end of the Middle Ages became the most religiously homogeneous region in the world, and this extraordinary religious homogeneity was related to the origins and consolidation of early parliaments ... The most challenging type of diversity for democracy, past and present, has been religious diversity.”

Religious Exclusion and the Origins of Democracy
Şener Aktürk

Journal of Democracy
Volume 36, Number 3, July 2025

READ FREE: GOLD OPEN ACCESS
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Hopkins Press @hopkinspress.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
"The most challenging type of diversity for democracy...has been religious diversity," writes Şener Aktürk in the latest @jodemocracy.bsky.social Read "Religious Exclusion and the Origins of Democracy" for free, gold #OpenAccess at @ProjectMUSE tinyurl.com/y4sbskcd #AcademicSky
“Western Europe toward the end of the Middle Ages became the most religiously homogeneous region in the world, and this extraordinary religious homogeneity was related to the origins and consolidation of early parliaments ... The most challenging type of diversity for democracy, past and present, has been religious diversity.”

Religious Exclusion and the Origins of Democracy
Şener Aktürk

Journal of Democracy
Volume 36, Number 3, July 2025

READ FREE: GOLD OPEN ACCESS
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
Be our colleague! We are hiring: "Koç University invites applications for a full-time Assistant Professor position in International Relations with a focus on International Political Economy (IPE) starting in September 2026." Details in the link below: jobs.ku.edu.tr/open_positio...
jobs.ku.edu.tr
Faculty Position in International Relations | KU Jobs
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
Be our colleague! We are hiring: "Koç University invites applications for a full-time Assistant Professor position in International Relations with a focus on International Political Economy (IPE) starting in September 2026." Details in the link below: jobs.ku.edu.tr/open_positio...
jobs.ku.edu.tr
Faculty Position in International Relations | KU Jobs
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
For the "big picture" of all Muslim members of the parliaments across 26 European countries check out our @poppublicsphere.bsky.social article "Institutionalization of Ethnocultural Diversity and the Representation of European Muslims" @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Institutionalization of Ethnocultural Diversity and the Representation of European Muslims | Perspectives on Politics | Cambridge Core
Institutionalization of Ethnocultural Diversity and the Representation of European Muslims - Volume 19 Issue 2
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Pazar günü önce oturum başkanı ve sonrasında konuşmacı olarak görev aldığım TÜBA-EMAN konferansı vesilesiyle bazılarını yıllardır gör(e)mediğim bazı meslektaşlarımla da görüşebilme fırsatı buldum. Detaylı bilgi ve fotoğrafları ilgili haber bülteninde bulabilirsiniz: www.tuba.gov.tr/tr/haberler/...
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
I'm delighted to serve on "The Outstanding Article Award in International History and Politics" committee @apsa.bsky.social Deadline for nominations is January 31, 2026. Details of the nomination and a list of previous winners can be found at the APSA-IHaP website connect.apsanet.org/s34/nominati...
connect.apsanet.org
Nominations
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
"Prof. Dr. Şener Aktürk, APSA Ödülü’nü kazanan ilk Türk akademisyen oldu" www.karar.com/kultur-sanat...
karar.com
Prof. Dr. Şener Aktürk, APSA Ödülü’nü kazanan ilk Türk akademisyen oldu
Koç Üniversitesi’nden Prof. Dr. Şener Aktürk, Amerikan Siyaset Bilimi Derneği (APSA) tarafından ‘2025 Uluslararası Tarih ve Siyaset Üstün Makale Ödülü’ne layık görüldü. International Security dergisin...
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
I'm delighted to announce that my article, "Religious Exclusion and the Origins of Democracy," published @jodemocracy.bsky.social is now permanently Open Access! I thank Koç University Library and its staff for making this possible. Article link: muse.jhu.edu/article/964565
muse.jhu.edu
Project MUSE - Religious Exclusion and the Origins of Democracy
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Cambridge University Press Political Science & IR @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org · 10/10/2025
#OpenAccess from @poppublicsphere.bsky.social - The Politics of Status Preservation: Immigration and the Knowledge Economy Class - cup.org/3VYHxGx - @briittavs.bsky.social #FirstView
Banner image featuring the title 'Perspectives on Politics' over a city skyline, with a prominent graffiti quote about free speech and journalism, hashtagged #OpenAccess.
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
I'm delighted to announce that my article, "Religious Exclusion and the Origins of Democracy," published @jodemocracy.bsky.social is now permanently Open Access! I thank Koç University Library and its staff for making this possible. Article link: muse.jhu.edu/article/964565
muse.jhu.edu
Project MUSE - Religious Exclusion and the Origins of Democracy
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Kevin Rothrock @kevinrothrock.me · 01/10/2025
Oh welp: "Russia remained the top supplier of nuclear reactor fuel to the U.S. last year, even after a ban on Russian enriched uranium imports became law in May, data from the Energy Dept. show." This, as Trump lectures Europe and others to curb reliance on Russian oil and natural gas.
bloomberg.com
Russia Still Top Supplier of US Nuclear Fuel Despite Import Ban
Russia remained the top supplier of nuclear reactor fuel to the US last year, even after a ban on enriched uranium imports from the country became law in May, data from the Department of Energy shows.
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
I'm delighted to announce that my article "Not So Innocent: Clerics, Monarchs, and the Ethnoreligious Cleansing of Western Europe” received the Outstanding Article Award in International History and Politics! @apsa.bsky.social @drjlhazelton.bsky.social Read it for free direct.mit.edu/isec/article...
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
We had a productive workshop on September 4th and a great event on September 5th at the Balkan Studies Foundation in Skopje. "5th International Balkan Studies Congress Keynote Speech by Prof. Dr. Şener Aktürk: Nationalism and Religion in Global Perspective" balkanfoundation.com/keynote-spee...
balkanfoundation.com
5th International Balkan Studies Congress Keynote Speech by Prof. Dr. Şener Aktürk: Nationalism and Religion in Global Perspective |
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 14/09/2025
Starts now...
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 14/09/2025
Today, I'll chair the #APSA2025 panel on "Borders of/for State Identity" and I'll present my paper on "After Empire: Post-Ukrainian Russia in Comparative Perspective," comparing Russia to post-Irish Britain and post-Algerian France in particular. Come, join us @apsa.bsky.social tinyurl.com/ykuuqe44
tinyurl.com
APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition 2025
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 14/09/2025
Today, I'll chair the #APSA2025 panel on "Borders of/for State Identity" and I'll present my paper on "After Empire: Post-Ukrainian Russia in Comparative Perspective," comparing Russia to post-Irish Britain and post-Algerian France in particular. Come, join us @apsa.bsky.social tinyurl.com/ykuuqe44
tinyurl.com
APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition 2025
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
Today at #APSA2025, I will join Rogers Smith, Christina Davis, and Ashutosh Varshney to discuss Vinicius G. Rodrigues Vieira's @rodriguesvieira.bsky.social "Shaping Nations and Markets: Identity Capital, Trade, and the Populist Rage." Join us at 2 pm - 3:30 pm (Vancouver time).
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
It was an intellectually rewarding experience and a great honor to chair the Short Listing Committee for the Luebbert Book Prize in Comparative Politics in 2025: apsanet.org/membership/o... I won't be at APSA conference @apsa.bsky.social but here is a photo of all the short listed books that I took:
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Şener Aktürk @senerakturk.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
I'm not at APSA Conference in Vancouver in-person, but APSA attendees can still view my iPoster on "Religious Conflict, Exclusion, and the Origins of the International System" and they can even download it! tinyurl.com/2c9bbg6e
tinyurl.com
APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition 2025
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Vinícius Guilherme Rodrigues Vieira @rodriguesvieira.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Are you attending @apsa.bsky.social 2025? Please join me and @rogerssmith.bsky.social , Christina Davis, Ashutosh Varshney, and @senerakturk.bsky.social (who cannot attend in person) to discuss Shaping Nations and Markets in theme panel this Saturday at 2 pm politicalsciencenow.com/theme-panel-...
politicalsciencenow.com
Theme Panel: Author Meets Critics: “Shaping Nations and Markets: Identity Capital, Trade, and the Populist Rage” -
In-Person Author Meets Critics Participants: (Chair) Vinicius G. Rodrigues Vieira, IDP University (Presenter) Rogers M. Smith, University of Pennsylvania (Presenter) Christina Davis, Harvard University (Presenter) Ashutosh Varshney, Brown University (Presenter) Sener Akturk, Koç University Session [...]
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