https://www.sibeloktay.net/teaching daily 0.75 2019-08-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1499937187966-DSIYD09KC034GER9JMRE/Denmark_Government-and-Politics.jpg Teaching https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1499955722746-LSSMAYPLPR6N0F8B8PCP/puzzle.jpg Teaching https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1499936564505-JC0X077Z3F50JU357VRW/worldmap.jpg Teaching https://www.sibeloktay.net/welcome daily 1.0 2024-05-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/adfa59ad-0abb-451c-9e9e-59d76e10a9a9/Oktay_Headshot.jpg Home - WELCOME! I am the Deputy Chair of Multilateral Diplomacy in the Political Training Division of the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute and a Nonresident Senior Fellow of Public Opinion and Foreign Policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. I received my Ph.D. in Political Science from Syracuse University's Maxwell School in 2014. Prior to my current role at the State Department, I was a professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Springfield, where I also served as the inaugural director of the School of Politics and International Affairs. During the 2023-2024 academic year, I was a Jefferson Science Fellow at the U.S. Department of State. I am the author of Governing Abroad: Coalition Politics and Foreign Policy in Europe (University of Michigan Press, 2022), which received the 2022 Best Book in Foreign Policy Analysis Award from the International Studies Association. My research also appears in International Studies Perspectives, European Journal of Political Research, British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Journal of European Public Policy and European Security, among other outlets. Thanks for visiting! https://www.sibeloktay.net/vitae daily 0.75 2023-09-18 https://www.sibeloktay.net/contact daily 0.75 2024-05-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1716256245708-F845C221P5RUWHLJZG77/image-asset.jpeg Contact - Contact Email: sibelokara at gmail dot com Twitter: @SibelOktay Bluesky: @sibeloktay.bsky.social https://www.sibeloktay.net/commentary daily 0.75 2024-05-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1616010369635-8Y8RVWNNQUS57RH23DKZ/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-03-17%2Bat%2B2.43.32%2BPM.jpg Media+Commentary - 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS AND US - TURKEY RELATIONS I spoke to the BBC Turkish service about the 2020 US presidential elections and the future of US - Turkey relations. (October 2020) Watch here. (in Turkish) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1565025568692-UL21E7GZPOAGM5MOOL57/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-08-05%2Bat%2B11.54.27%2BAM.jpg Media+Commentary - An Istanbul mayoral election is rattling Turkey’s politics I spoke to Vox on the Istanbul mayoral re-election and its implications for Turkey’s national political scene. (June 2019) Read more here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1596730497013-PXA88YZE7TPFYJSIJTQ9/osce.jpg Media+Commentary - Turkey and allies undermine OSCE by blocking key reappointments I spoke to Ahval News about Turkey’s concerted efforts with Azerbaijan and Tajikistan to block the reappointments of key OSCE officials, and the implications of this behavior on Turkish foreign policy. (August 2020) Read more here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1571070707891-DZUI0VXZ33UOEF9NRND5/syria.jpg Media+Commentary - TURKISH OFFENSIVE IN nORTHERN SYRIA I spoke to The Depaulia about the Turkish military operation in northern Syria. Why did the United States decide to withdraw troops from Syria, and what are Turkey’s policy goals in the region? (October 2019) Read more here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/15b33d1b-1e76-4235-8800-2214be1ecf26/Global+Dispatch-2 Media+Commentary - Why is turkey blocking Sweden and Finland’s NATO bids? I spoke to Mark Leon Goldberg of the Global Dispatches about Turkey’s opposition to Sweden and Finland’s NATO memberships, and what Turkey is trying to get out of it. (Listen to the podcast here.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/ace79146-18b4-41ed-91a9-141c3b95d7be/Events_TurkeyAt100_LiveStream_v03.jpg Media+Commentary - TURKEY AT 100 I spoke at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies event on Turkey’s regime and foreign policy challenges as it celebrates the Republic’s centennial. (Watch the panel here.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1565025890311-PTABQR5L9Z37GMT2KJ87/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-08-05%2Bat%2B12.23.37%2BPM.jpg Media+Commentary - erdogan’s visit to russia and the s-400/f-35 row I spoke to the Lebanese daily Annahar about whether the AKP’s defeat in the local elections could weaken his bargaining power regarding the purchasing of the S-400 missile system. (April 2019) Read more here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1565025609778-EQDK30U7PPWC6XGAVJCP/image-asset.jpeg Media+Commentary - Turkish presidential elections & the kurdish peace process In this E-International Relations piece I discuss the prospects of the Kurdish peace process in the context of the 2014 presidential elections. (August 2014) Read more here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1635257823116-ZH6ZAVZ7N9RCU87I8JFE/oktay-1024x683.jpg Media+Commentary - AUKUS IS AWKWARD, BUT NOT ABNORMAL How could a submarine deal open a breach this wide in U.S-French relations? Our recent survey experiment among U.S. foreign policy experts helps answer that question. In our latest War on the Rocks essay, Smeltz, Poast, Kafura and I share the results of study to explain why the AUKUS deal isn’t too far off from how the US foreign policy establishment thinks about America’s alliance relationships. (Read more here.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1598634836269-WPQCI7GY6BJH5IL01DCM/Ivme%2Bposter.jpg Media+Commentary - resource curse redux? lessons from norway and venezuela I spoke to Ivme Hareketi, a democratic socialist platform in Turkey, about the country’s recent discovery of natural gas in the Black Sea and what to do with natural resource wealth, using Norway and Venezuela as examples. (August 2020) Watch here. (in Turkish) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1565025536838-ZGJ5778OK4BSVUE3AENW/image-asset.jpeg Media+Commentary - THE EAST-MED ACT: what’s in store for turkey? I spoke to Ahval News about the Menendez-Rubio bill that supports the new partnership between Israel, Cyprus and Greece in the Mediterranean — what does it mean for US-Turkey relations? (July 2019) Read more here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1580750380675-J5JM7NRD7ENONV7ZIGYN/20180626185114afpp-afp_16o7pt.h_0.jpg Media+Commentary - The future of U.S.-Turkey strategic relations I spoke to Ahval News about the future of Turkish democracy and what the future holds for the relations between the U.S. and Turkey. (February 2020) Read more here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1565025592335-96WJ6CEBMNOC552Y3T2H/istanbulataturk.jpg Media+Commentary - tURKEY’S SIX FOREIGN POLICY SINS In this The Conversation piece I explain we should discuss the June 2016 Istanbul Ataturk Airport bombing in the context of Turkey's recent foreign policy mistakes. This piece was featured in numerous outlets including The Huffington Post, The New Republic, and Informed Comment. (June 2016) Read more here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1565025507542-K56EMQSWVXUYRXL8NHCR/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-08-05%2Bat%2B11.58.03%2BAM.jpg Media+Commentary - TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL REFERENDUM I spoke to Correio Braziliense on the 2017 referendum and what it means for Turkish democracy. (April 2017) Read more here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/969f5b71-5c4f-44f2-8384-091bb6344338/Erdowant Media+Commentary - WHAT DOES ERDOGAN ERDO-WANT? I spoke with Aaron Schwartzbaum of the Foreign Policy Research Institute about the war in Ukraine, Turkey’s positioning towards it, and what it means in the context of the country’s domestic politics and its leader. (Listen to the podcast here.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1571422302431-21CI6VC0L6ZAH6WWAE29/H7A2ZVYR5FGRLCL2ZN4OEI5DZE.jpg Media+Commentary - U.S., Turkey agree on ceasefire to allow Kurdish withdrawal from northern Syrian strip My comments appeared in The Globe and Mail on the ceasefire agreement between the United States and Turkey following the Turkish offensive in Syria against the YPG forces. (October 2019) Read more here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1565025478707-LDBM67WK51RIOGVSWPFO/Russianamb.jpg Media+Commentary - Assassination of the Russian ambassador a big loss for Turkey In this The Conversation piece, I discuss the potential consequences of Ambassador Karlov’s assassination for Turkish foreign policy in the region. (December 2016) Read more here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1570803922380-OPW0UE1SVMRHSKFH7MOY/trumpdonald_100319getty_1.jpg Media+Commentary - trump and his foolish foreign policy decisions I wrote in The Hill about Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and its consequences for American foreign policy in the region. (October 2019) Read more here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1616010567271-LHTGATHLGPFL7M9EPL0F/Screen+Shot+2021-03-17+at+2.41.22+PM.png Media+Commentary - 2020 us PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULTS and its foreign policy implications I spoke to the Deutsche Welle Turkish service about the US presidential election and what the results mean for US foreign policy. (November 2020) Watch here. (in Turkish) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1596730180336-XEUP7B30RFW728ELVNJO/Cyprusvotes.jpg Media+Commentary - Turkey may be misjudging north Cyprus elections I spoke to Ahval News on Turkey’s position and preferences in the Northern Cyprus elections. (March 2020) Read more here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1565025460229-03FMS08B7XG9I9ERIWLC/De%252BGroene%252BAmsterdammer_feature.jpg Media+Commentary - TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY IN SYRIA I spoke to the Dutch news magazine, De Groene Amsterdammer, about Turkish foreign policy in Syria. (September 2016) Read more here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/3e7733c5-6b15-4031-84b7-957333ce8c0c/Screen+Shot+2022-08-09+at+1.02.50+PM.png Media+Commentary - TURKEY AS AN OBSTACLE TO NATO EXPANSION? I joined Lisel Hintz and Jarrod Hayes of the Duck of Minerva to discuss Turkey’s opposition to the Swedish and Finnish membership in NATO and its domestic reasons. (Listen to the podcast here.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1572472105608-QJJ5P654AXHJT9P76EBS/erdo.jpg Media+Commentary - Erdogan’s Dismissive Retort on Armenian Genocide Shows How Low U.S. Ties Have Sunk I spoke to The New York Times about the House’s decision to recognize the Armenian Genocide and whether it would further deteriorate U.S.-Turkey relations. (October 2019) Read more here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/d3d49e13-e482-4353-b622-27f3d7649419/Screen+Shot+2022-08-09+at+1.07.38+PM.png Media+Commentary - TURKEY’S TANKING LIRA? I spoke with Mark Leon Goldberg of the Global Dispatch on Turkey’s ongoing economic crisis and the factors that explain it. (Listen to the podcast here.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1616010825173-QF4WMTXVPZ4609P4B2UJ/Screen+Shot+2021-03-17+at+2.53.25+PM.png Media+Commentary - turkey’s phantom coalition In a follow up to my new essay on the AKP - MHP partnership in Turkey and its impact on Turkish foreign policy (published in the American Political Science Association’s MENA Newsletter), I did a podcast with Dr. Mehmet Yegin of FeniksPolitik. We discussed the recent research on coalition politics and foreign policy, whether the AKP-MHP partnership is a coalition, and what impact MHP has on Turkish foreign policy. (December 2020) Read the transcript or check out the podcast here. (in English) https://www.sibeloktay.net/research daily 0.75 2024-05-21 https://www.sibeloktay.net/book daily 0.75 2024-05-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595de3ab9f7456e91f776de4/1635356857506-WYU6C7NU9461U6MDMFC3/Governing+Abroad+cover BOOK - RECIPIENT OF isa’S 2022 BEST BOOK IN FOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS AWARD From Austria to New Zealand, coalition governments often pave the road to foreign policy. In Western Europe, nearly 90 percent of postwar governments include two or more political parties. Israel, the Middle East’s only consolidated democracy according to many, has never experienced single-party rule in its history. Even the United Kingdom, known for its long streak of single-party rule, now navigates multiparty cabinets. Coalitions are everywhere, but we still have little understanding of how they act in foreign affairs. History shows that coalitions can sometime engage in powerful international commitments such as participating in military operations, but at other times, they postpone their decisions, water down their policy positions, or promise to do less than they otherwise would. What explains these differences in behavior? Governing Abroad (University of Michigan Press, 2022) unpacks the little-known world of coalition governments to find out. Oktay argues that the specific constellation of parties in government explains why some coalitions can make more assertive foreign policy decisions than others. The book weaves together statistical analyses of foreign policy events across thirty European countries alongside in-depth case studies from Denmark, the Netherlands, and Finland. It brings political parties back into the study of foreign policy, demonstrating that the size of the coalition, the ideological proximity of the governing parties, and their relationship with the parliamentary opposition together influence the government’s ability to act in the international arena. This book challenges our existing perceptions about the constraints and weaknesses of coalition governments. It sheds new light on the conditions that allow them to act decisively abroad.