Jan 2025 - Jun 2025
Ayhan Kaya is a CATS Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Studies (SWP), focusing on social movements and nationalism in Turkey and their impact on Europe-Turkey relations. He is a Professor of Politics and Jean Monnet Chair of European Politics of Interculturalism at Istanbul Bilgi University, where he also directs the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence. Kaya is a member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences (since 2012) and the British Academy (since 2024). He recently completed a European Research Council Advanced Grant project on youth radicalisation in Europe.
Ayhan Kaya holds a PhD and an MA from the University of Warwick. He has held positions at Humboldt University Berlin, the European University Institute in Florence and Malmö University. His research interests include European identities, Euro-Turks, transnationalism, refugee studies and populism in the EU.
Kaya has participated in several FP7, Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects. His awards include the TÜBA-GEBİP Prize in 2005 and the Excellence in Teaching Awards at Bilgi University in 2013 and 2017.
Sep 2024 - Jun 2025
Dr Çağdaş Üngör is a CATS fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Studies (SWP) in the academic year 2024-2025. She is on leave from the Department of Political Science and International Relations of Marmara University in Istanbul, where she teaches since 2009.
Üngör holds a Ph.D. degree in Chinese modern history from the State University of New York in Binghamton. She previously studied Mandarin and conducted research in Wuhan and Beijing. As an academic, Dr. Üngör joined official delegations to visit several Asian countries and attended international workshops in the capacity of an area expert. She is a frequent commentator in Turkish and Western media outlets on China-related topics. Her studies concentrate on China’s ideological, economic and cultural impact on Turkey from the Cold War era until today.
Visiting Fellow Jun 2024 - Dec 2025
CATS Fellow Jun 2023 - May 2024
Dr Salim Çevik is a CATS fellow. He previously worked as CATS Associate at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). Prior to joining to SWP, he held research or teaching positions at Lund University (Sweden), Ipek University (Turkey), Bilgi University (Turkey) and Columbia University (USA). He earned his PhD degree in Political Science from Bilkent University (2015, Turkey).
His main area of research focusses on Turkish domestic politics and Turkish foreign policy in the Middle East and Africa.