Tutku Ayhan
IBEI Fellow
Contact data
Biography
Tutku Ayhan is a Fellow in International Security at IBEI. Before joining IBEI, she was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention at State University of New York, Binghamton.
Broadly situated within Feminist Security Studies, Tutku's research examines gendered dimensions of war and its aftermath from an intersectional framework. She is mainly interested in post-conflict gender dynamics and women's post-conflict experiences, particularly their experience of resilience and empowerment. Her work also explores forced displacement, ethnic conflict and genocide, as well as sexual and gender-based violence.
Her research methodology involves extensive, multi-site fieldwork among marginalized communities affected by conflict. Using a combination of in-depth interviews, participant observation, and ethnographic techniques, she follows forcibly displaced individuals surviving conflict in various settings, including camps, informal shelters, and cities across both the Global South and Global North.
At IBEI, she has been coordinating "The Securitization of Migrants and Ethnic Minorities and the Rise of Xenophobia in the EU" (SECUREU) project.
Background and education
- (2021) PhD, University of Central Florida, Security Studies
- (2014) MA, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Sociology
- (2013) BA, Galatasaray University, Political Science
Awards
- 2022. Honorable Mention, APSA Women, Gender, and Politics Research Section, Best Dissertation Award Competition. Link
- 2022. Honorable Mention for Outstanding Dissertation, College of Sciences, University of Central Florida.
- 2021. Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching Award, College of Sciences, University of Central Florida.
- 2020. Small Grant for Research, APSA Religion and Politics Section. Link
- 2018. Travel Research Engagement Grant, Project on Middle East Political Science. Link
Professional memberships & affiliations
- American Political Science Association (APSA)
- International Studies Association (ISA)
- International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS)
- Middle East Studies Association (MESA)
Courses
Research
Research interests
- Gender and conflict
- Sexual and gender-based violence
- Genocide, atrocity and prevention
- Feminist Security Studies
- Forced displacement
IBEI Research Clusters
- Security, Conflict and Peace
- Intersectionality, Power and Politics
Research projects
October 2022 - October 2024 Coordinator of SECUREU Project
Selected publications
- 2024.Strategic Adoption And Rejection Of Norms: The Case Of Türkiye’s Withdrawal From Istanbul Convention.” in La violencia contra las mujeres en un orden internacional en transición. Esther Barbé y Magdalena M. Martín (eds.)..pp: 345-366.Link
- 2024.Radical care in displacement: Rohingya women’s activism amidst neoliberal humanitarianism and repression.Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies,1Link
- 2024.Failing to End Genocide: Structural Factors, Triggers, and Ineffective Responses.Genocide Studies and Prevention,18:130–150Link
- 2024.Security and Empowerment as Justice: Yezidi Women's Demands and Perceptions of Post-Genocide Justice.The Middle East Journal,Volume 77:Numbers 3-4 Winter-Spring 2024Link
- 2021.“We are Yezidi, Being Otherwise Never Stopped our Persecution: Yezidi perceptions of Kurds and Kurdish Identity.” In Kurds and Yezidis in the Middle East: Shifting Identities, Borders and the Experience of Minority Communities, ed. Güneş Murat Tezcür..pp: 207.Link
- 2021.“Overcoming “Intimate Hatreds:” Reflections on Violence against Yezidis.” In Conceptualizing Mass Violence: Representations Recollections, and Reinterpretations, ed. Navras J. Aafreedi & Priya Singh..pp: 14.Link