SETA Security Radar | Türkiye’s Geopolitical Landscape in 2026

Prof. Murat Yeşiltaş completed his BA and MA in International Relations at Sakarya University in 2003 and 2009, respectively. He earned his PhD in Political Science and International Relations from Marmara University in 2012 with a dissertation titled "Locating Turkey: Geopolitical Mentality and the Army in Turkey." Yeşiltaş was a visiting researcher at Lancaster University's Department of European Studies and International Politics (2008-2009) and at Virginia Tech's Institute of Government and International Relations (2010-2011). Currently, he is a faculty member at the Faculty of Political Science, Department of International Relations at the Social Sciences University of Ankara. His research expertise spans geopolitical assessment, military analysis, actor profiling, scenario building, situation analysis, and wargaming simulation, with a particular focus on security studies, intelligence analysis, and strategic foresight. Yeşiltaş has been extensively involved in field research in Syria, Libya, and Iraq, providing on-the-ground insights into regional conflicts, military strategies, and geopolitical transformations. He has also played an active role in think-and-do tank activities, contributing to both academic discourse and policy-oriented research through strategic analysis and scenario planning.

She obtained her degree in International Relations from the Middle East Technical University (Ortadoğu Teknik Üniversitesi) and commenced her career as a research assistant at the SETA Foundation in 2014. Presently, she holds the position of project coordinator for the Terrorism Analysis Platform (TAP), a comprehensive database and web portal initiated in 2019, which continues to actively operate. Since 2021, she has been engaged as a researcher at SETA. Notably, she has authored esteemed reports published by SETA, including "The Ascension of Türkiye as a Drone Power: History, Strategy, and Geopolitical Implications","Unpacking the Debate on Turkish Drones" and " Remote Control:Aerial Elimination of the PKK's Terrorist Leaders and Operatives".Her research pursuits predominantly revolve around military technology and strategy, counterterrorism and insurgency, as well as unmanned systems.

Kemal İnat graduated from Ankara University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Sciences in 1992. He earned his PhD at the University of Siegen, Germany, in 2000, with his dissertation entitled “Turkey's Middle East Policy in the Inception of the 21st Century”. İnat began his academic career as a research assistant at the Department of International Relations, Sakarya University, in 1994. He became an associate professor and a full professor in 2006 and 2011, respectively. İnat worked as the director of Social Sciences Institute between 2011 and 2014, and of Middle East Institute (ORMER) between 2015 and 2018 at the same university. İnat is one of the editors of Ortadoğu Yıllığı (Middle East Yearbook) and Türk Dış Politikası Almanağı (Turkish Foreign Policy Yearbook), which are published since 2005 by ORMER and since 2009 by SETA Foundation, respectively. Mr. İnat is also the author of many books, such as Dünya Çatışmaları (The World Conflicts), the AK Party Foreign Policy, and Handbuch der Religionen der Welt ve Internationale Wirtschaftsorganisationen. His articles are published in various national and international peer-reviewed journals including Blaetter für deutsche und internationale Politik, Bilgi, Türkiye Ortadoğu Çalışmaları Dergisi (Turkish Journal of Middle Eastern Studies), and Insight Turkey. İnat currently teaches Issues in the Middle East and Turkish Foreign Policy at ORMER and at the Department of International Relations, Sakarya University.

He graduated from War College in the field of Management in 1991. He assumed varying tasks and appointments in the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF). He graduated from Master’s (2010) and PhD programs (2017) in the International Relations Department of the Middle Eastern Technical University. He scrutinized the Chinese soft power practices through cultural diffusion efforts and African policy for a Master’s degree. His Ph. D. research was about intelligence and propaganda efforts in peace-oriented undertakings based on the UN and NATO practices in Bosnia and Afghanistan. His studies are primarily on the security and defence studies, the conceptualization of power, intelligence and propaganda practices. He had been commissioned to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bosnia, facilitating the comparison of theory and practice when he was in Service. The primary region he has been interested in is the Middle East; he had monitored wider Afghanistan, Balkans, the USA, and China as the secondary academic effort. He was a faculty member of the Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University of Turkey after teaching as a visiting scholar at Başkent University. He is currently a faculty member at Hasan Kalyoncu University and a Researcher in SETA Foundation. Aslan is the author of the boks - Security Sector Reform for Libya: A Cruical Step Towards State Building, The Crisis of the Hundred Years: Afghanistan, Intelligence and Propaganda: The Cases of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Afghanistan, other than academic and scholarly articles.

Dr. Tunç Demirtaş has completed his BA at the Department of the International Relations of Uludag University, in 2012. He started to work as a research assistant at the Uludag University in 2013. He completed his MA at the Department of International Relations of BUU in 2015 with his thesis titled "The Role of Soft Power Factor in Turkey's Africa Policy". Demirtaş earned his PhD at the same university in 2022 with his thesis titled "Risks and Opportunities in State Rebuilding: The Case of Horn of Africa". Horn of Africa politics, global/regional power competition in Africa and Turkey-Africa relations are among his research interests.

Mehmet Salah Devrim, SETA Vakfı'nda Araştırma Asistanı olarak görev yapmakta ve güvenlik, savunma sanayii ve terörle mücadele çalışmaları üzerine yoğunlaşmaktadır. Uluslararası ilişkiler alanındaki güçlü akademik altyapısı sayesinde Türk insansız hava araçları (İHA), açık kaynak istihbaratı (OSINT), Türkiye'nin Irak ve Suriye'deki terörle mücadele operasyonları ve veri odaklı politika geliştirme konularında uzmanlaşmıştır. 2022 ve 2023 yılları arasında Mehmet Salah Devrim, Terörizm Analiz Platformu ekibinde (Terrorism Analysis Platform Team) yer almış ve güvenlik konularına dair araştırmalara ve veri odaklı analizlere katkıda bulunmuştur. Lisans ve yüksek lisans eğitimini Antalya Bilim Üniversitesi Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü'nde tamamlamış; yüksek lisans tezinde askeri devrimlerin savaş ve uluslararası ilişkiler üzerindeki etkilerini incelemiştir. Halen Ankara Sosyal Bilimler Üniversitesi'nde Uluslararası İlişkiler alanında doktora çalışmalarını sürdürmektedir.

Received his B.A. in International Relations and his M.A. in History from Bilkent University. Having attended doctoral level courses at The Ohio State University and Bilkent University, he completed his Ph.D. in Politics and International Studies at SOAS, University of London. Among his research interests are contemporary Balkan politics, European politics, domestic-international linkages, Ottoman and Republican foreign policy and political history.

Prof. Yücel Acer graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences at Ankara University, Turkey, and went on the earn an LL.M. Degree in International Law from the Law Faculty at the University of Sheffield, UK, and a PhD in International Law from the Law Faculty of the University of Bristol, UK. His postdoctoral studies were at the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii, United States. Acer specializes in international law of the sea, international law of armed conflicts, and international human rights law. He is the author of numerous academic articles in addition to his books entitled The Aegean Maritime Disputes and International Law; Crime of Aggression in International Law (Uluslararası Hukukta Saldırı Suçu); The Asylum Strategy of Turkey from the Global and Regional Perspectives (Küresel ve Bölgesel Perspektiften Türkiye'nin İltica Stratejisi); and A Basic Textbook on International Law (Uluslararası Hukuk Temel Ders Kitabı). Acer has taught at the Turkish Military Academy, İzmir University of Economics, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, and Atılım University. Currently, he is a professor of International Law at the Faculty of Law at Yıldırım Beyazıt University in Ankara.

Dr. Bilgay Duman, lisans ve yüksek lisans eğitimini sırasıyla 2004 ve 2007 yıllarında Kırıkkale Üniversitesi Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü'nde tamamlamıştır. Doktorasını 2024 yılında Abant İzzet Baysal Üniversitesi Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü'nde "2003 Sonrası Irak'ta Etnisite-Mezhep İlişkisi: Türkmenler Örneği" başlıklı teziyle doktorasını tamamladı. 2004 yılında itibaren Türkiye'deki farklı düşünce kuruluşlarında araştırmacı, uzman ve koordinatör olarak görev aldı. Kasım 2024 itibari ile Anadolu Ajansı Akademi Müdür Yardımcısı olarak göreve başladı ve halen bu görevine devam ediyor. Bu görevinin yanında farklı üniversitelerde Ortadoğu üzerine dersler veriyor. Ortadoğu ve özellikle Irak çalışmalarına yoğunlaşan Dr. Duman, Türk dış politikası ve Türk dünyası üzerine de araştırmalar yapıyor. Ulusal ve uluslararası düzeyde pek çok yayını, panel, konferans ve semineri bulunan Dr. Duman, farklı medya kuruluşlarında da görüşler sunuyor. Ayrıca uluslararası gözlemci olarak farklı ülkelerde seçim gözlemlerinde bulunuyor.

Dr. Mustafa Caner is an Assistant Professor at the Middle East Institute (ORMER) of Sakarya University. He also serves as a foreign policy researcher at the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) and is the editor-in-chief of Kriter magazine. He completed his undergraduate studies in Public Administration at Uludağ University and obtained his master's degree in Political and Social Sciences from the same institution. He earned his Ph.D. in Middle Eastern Studies from Sakarya University. His academic research focuses on Iranian politics, Iran-Turkey relations, and regional dynamics in the Middle East. Dr. Caner has published articles, books, and book chapters in national and international journals and has presented papers at various conferences and symposiums. He has also participated in several projects, including those funded by TÜBİTAK.

Muhammed Hüseyin Mercan: 2008 yılında Marmara Üniversitesi Siyaset Bilimi ve Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü'nde lisans eğitimini, 2011'de ise Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Siyaset Bilimi ve Uluslararası İlişkiler programında "Suriye Dış Politikası ve Ulusal Çıkar: 1990- 2010" başlıklı tez çalışmasıyla yüksek lisans eğitimini tamamladı. İstanbul Üniversitesi Siyaset Bilimi ve Uluslararası İlişkiler programında yürüttüğü doktora çalışmasını "İslami Hareketin Kurumsallaşma Sorunu Işığında Müslüman Kardeşler Teşkilatı" başlıklı tezle 2017'de tamamladı. Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü'nde öğretim üyesi olarak görev yapan Mercan, genel itibarıyla Orta Doğu siyaseti üzerine araştırmalar yapmaktadır. Bu alanda ulusal ve uluslararası düzeyde çeşitli akademik makaleler kaleme alan Mercan'ın Suriye: Rejim ve Dış Politika ve Müslüman Kardeşler'in Yükselişi ve Düşüşü başlıklı iki kitabı ile Transformation of the Muslim World in the 21st Century, Orta Doğu'nun Ekonomi Politiği (Taha Eğri ile) ve Arap Ayaklanmalarını Yeniden Düşünmek (Mesut Özcan ile) başlıklı derlemeleri bulunmaktadır.

He works as a researcher in SETA's foreign policy studies. He is a graduate of Eastern Mediterranean University's Department of International Relations. He has worked on intercultural dialogue in Canada. He has conducted research on Egypt at the Cairo Center for Turkish Studies and at SETA Cairo. He currently conducts research on Syria, Iraq, and Libya at SETA Ankara. His areas of interest include conflict zones and non-state armed organizations. He currently serves as editor-in-chief of Syria Agenda and related platforms.

Kutluhan Görücü graduated from Kocaeli University, Department of International Relations. He completed his master's degree at Kocaeli University, Department of Political History, with the thesis titled "Syrian Turkmens During the Syrian War (2011-2021)". He works as a researcher at SETA Foreign Policy Directorate. He is also the editor-in-chief of the Suriye Gundemi website. His areas of study are the Syrian war, non-state armed actors, terrorism, Turkmens and DAESH.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Erman Akıllı is currently serving as a faculty member in the Department of International Relations at Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University. His areas of expertise include artificial intelligence in foreign policy, digital diplomacy, the Central Asia region, the Organization of Turkish States, soft power, and its sub-branches. Throughout his academic career, he has published articles in peer-reviewed journals indexed in SSCI and WOS; and has contributed as an author and editor to books published by prestigious publishing houses such as Routledge, Palgrave MacMillan, and Springer Nature. Additionally, he served as the chief editor at the OSCE Academy in Bishkek between 2023-2024 and continues his work as an assistant editor for the Insight Turkey journal published by SETA.

Rıfat Öncel is a PhD student at the Department of International Relations of the Middle East Technical University. His main research interests include defense policy, the armed forces, and emerging military technologies.

Büşra Zeynep Özdemir received her Bachelor’s Degree from department of International Relations and European Union in Izmir University of Economics in 2013 and got her Master’s Degree from department of Sustainable Energy in Izmir University of Economics, with thesis named “European Energy Union: A further step ahead or reorganization“ in 2016. She is currently pursuing her PhD in department of International Relations in Sakarya University.