Seda Gürkan
Seda Gürkan is Assistant Professor in European Approaches to Security, Diplomacy and Global Affairs at Leiden University’s Institute for Security and Global Affairs (ISGA). She is also an Affiliated Fellow and Professor at the Department of Political Science and the Institute for European Studies (IEE), at Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB).
Dr. Gürkan is a graduate of the London School of Economics (LSE), Université libre de Bruxelles and Diplomatic School of Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She was previously a visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington DC and a visiting fellow at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). Prior to joining academia, she practised international diplomacy for ten years as a consultant to the EU institutions and as an international civil servant at NATO Headquarters in Brussels at the cabinet of Assistant Secretary General. There she worked on political-military affairs, security and defence issues, including missile defence, EU-NATO relations and counter-terrorism. Dr. Gürkan regularly provides expert opinions to the European Parliament on the EU’s enlargement, human rights and the EU’s neighbourhood. She is the country expert (Turkey) for Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) since 2018.
Her teaching and research interests include EU foreign policy (with a focus on the Eastern neighbourhood, human rights and enlargement), the crises the EU has been facing since 2009, the EU’s role in global affairs, EU institutions, European integration theories, parliamentary diplomacy (European Parliament) and emotions in international relations. She has published on these topics in peer reviewed journals and book chapters in edited volumes, and has presented around 70 innovative papers at leading international conferences and workshops. Her latest publications include a co-authored volume ‘Theorizing the Crises of the European Union’ published by Routledge in 2021 and a co-edited Special Issue on the ‘Emotions in EUropean Foreign Policy’ by Global Affairs in 2021. She is currently involved in two Horizon Europe projects (2022-2025), both dealing with the impact of the processes of autocratisation in the EU’s neighbouring countries on the EU’s foreign policy instruments: Horizon-MSCA ‘Globalisation, Europe and Multilateralism: Democratic institutions, the rise of alternative models and mounting normative dissensus’ (GEM-DIAMOND) and Horizon RIA project ‘Respond to Emerging Dissensus: Supranational Instruments and Norms of European democracy’ (RED-SPINEL).
Dr. Gürkan is a former scholar of German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) and Atlantik Brücke Young Leaders Program Alumna. She was awarded Jean Monnet scholarship by the European Commission for her postgraduate studies. Dr. Gürkan was a Robert Schuman Scholar at the European Parliament, Directorate General for Committees and Delegations, Enlargement section (Brussels) in 2003. She offered senior courses on international relations and international security at NATO Defence College (Rome, Italy) and NATO School in Oberammergau (Germany). She received NATO research award with her research project on European Security Architecture. She is a former American Field Service (AFS) scholar and she holds an Art Diploma from Rome, Italy.
Dr. Gürkan speaks Turkish (native), Spanish (native), English, French and Italian (all fluent).
Phone: +31708008206
Address: Wijnhaven
Turfmarkt 99
2511 DP The Hague
Room number 4.40
Dr. Gürkan is a graduate of the London School of Economics (LSE), Université libre de Bruxelles and Diplomatic School of Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She was previously a visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington DC and a visiting fellow at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). Prior to joining academia, she practised international diplomacy for ten years as a consultant to the EU institutions and as an international civil servant at NATO Headquarters in Brussels at the cabinet of Assistant Secretary General. There she worked on political-military affairs, security and defence issues, including missile defence, EU-NATO relations and counter-terrorism. Dr. Gürkan regularly provides expert opinions to the European Parliament on the EU’s enlargement, human rights and the EU’s neighbourhood. She is the country expert (Turkey) for Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) since 2018.
Her teaching and research interests include EU foreign policy (with a focus on the Eastern neighbourhood, human rights and enlargement), the crises the EU has been facing since 2009, the EU’s role in global affairs, EU institutions, European integration theories, parliamentary diplomacy (European Parliament) and emotions in international relations. She has published on these topics in peer reviewed journals and book chapters in edited volumes, and has presented around 70 innovative papers at leading international conferences and workshops. Her latest publications include a co-authored volume ‘Theorizing the Crises of the European Union’ published by Routledge in 2021 and a co-edited Special Issue on the ‘Emotions in EUropean Foreign Policy’ by Global Affairs in 2021. She is currently involved in two Horizon Europe projects (2022-2025), both dealing with the impact of the processes of autocratisation in the EU’s neighbouring countries on the EU’s foreign policy instruments: Horizon-MSCA ‘Globalisation, Europe and Multilateralism: Democratic institutions, the rise of alternative models and mounting normative dissensus’ (GEM-DIAMOND) and Horizon RIA project ‘Respond to Emerging Dissensus: Supranational Instruments and Norms of European democracy’ (RED-SPINEL).
Dr. Gürkan is a former scholar of German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) and Atlantik Brücke Young Leaders Program Alumna. She was awarded Jean Monnet scholarship by the European Commission for her postgraduate studies. Dr. Gürkan was a Robert Schuman Scholar at the European Parliament, Directorate General for Committees and Delegations, Enlargement section (Brussels) in 2003. She offered senior courses on international relations and international security at NATO Defence College (Rome, Italy) and NATO School in Oberammergau (Germany). She received NATO research award with her research project on European Security Architecture. She is a former American Field Service (AFS) scholar and she holds an Art Diploma from Rome, Italy.
Dr. Gürkan speaks Turkish (native), Spanish (native), English, French and Italian (all fluent).
Phone: +31708008206
Address: Wijnhaven
Turfmarkt 99
2511 DP The Hague
Room number 4.40
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Books by Seda Gürkan
Journal Articles and Book Chapters (Peer-reviewed) by Seda Gürkan
norms in EUropean foreign policy. Theoretically, building on the
existing IR-literature on emotions, the Special Issue distinguishes
between “emotion norms” (which refer to the appropriate
emotional expressions) and “emotional norms” (which refer to the
norms that trigger emotional responses). Empirically, the special issue
illustrates the different ways in which emotion(al) norms are used
at different levels of EUropean foreign policy, i.e. EU, state and
subnational levels. The collection of articles aspires to study the
ways in which emotions shape the EU’s external relations
focusing on the actors (who mobilize emotions, who are
constrained or contested by emotion(al) norms), processes
(through which various feelings are produced internally or
transmitted externally) and the content of norms linked to
emotions. Methodologically, this special issue illustrates how
emotion(al) norms can be studied through the use of different
discourse methods.
Why do international institutions promote emotional norms? In order to answer this question, the article, first, maps the legitimizing arguments put forward by the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in promoting an emotionally loaded norm vis-à-vis Turkey, i.e., the recognition of the Armenian genocide. Second, the paper explores the reasons behind the promotion of this emotional norm by the European Parliament (EP) as justified by the MEPs. The article theoretically draws on the IR literature on emotions, and empirically, it relies on the data generated from the interventions by the MEPs at the plenary on the centenary of the Armenian genocide on 15 April 2015. Through claims analysis, it is demonstrated that the condemnation of genocide is a shared norm within the EP, which transcends national and ideological differences. Consequently, the MEPs aspire to render it an essential constitutive element of the emotional community at the EU level.
Each entry begins with an accessible introduction to a method, using real-world examples from a wide range of academic disciplines, before discussing the benefits and limitations of the approach, its current status in academic practice, and finally providing tips and advice for readers on when and how to apply the method in their own research. Wide ranging and interdisciplinary, the text covers both well-established concepts and emerging ideas, such as big data and network analysis, for qualitative and quantitative research methods.
All entries feature extensive cross-referencing, providing ease of navigation and, pointing readers to related concepts, and to help build their overall understanding of research methods.
Reports by Seda Gürkan
Opinion pieces by Seda Gürkan
norms in EUropean foreign policy. Theoretically, building on the
existing IR-literature on emotions, the Special Issue distinguishes
between “emotion norms” (which refer to the appropriate
emotional expressions) and “emotional norms” (which refer to the
norms that trigger emotional responses). Empirically, the special issue
illustrates the different ways in which emotion(al) norms are used
at different levels of EUropean foreign policy, i.e. EU, state and
subnational levels. The collection of articles aspires to study the
ways in which emotions shape the EU’s external relations
focusing on the actors (who mobilize emotions, who are
constrained or contested by emotion(al) norms), processes
(through which various feelings are produced internally or
transmitted externally) and the content of norms linked to
emotions. Methodologically, this special issue illustrates how
emotion(al) norms can be studied through the use of different
discourse methods.
Why do international institutions promote emotional norms? In order to answer this question, the article, first, maps the legitimizing arguments put forward by the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in promoting an emotionally loaded norm vis-à-vis Turkey, i.e., the recognition of the Armenian genocide. Second, the paper explores the reasons behind the promotion of this emotional norm by the European Parliament (EP) as justified by the MEPs. The article theoretically draws on the IR literature on emotions, and empirically, it relies on the data generated from the interventions by the MEPs at the plenary on the centenary of the Armenian genocide on 15 April 2015. Through claims analysis, it is demonstrated that the condemnation of genocide is a shared norm within the EP, which transcends national and ideological differences. Consequently, the MEPs aspire to render it an essential constitutive element of the emotional community at the EU level.
Each entry begins with an accessible introduction to a method, using real-world examples from a wide range of academic disciplines, before discussing the benefits and limitations of the approach, its current status in academic practice, and finally providing tips and advice for readers on when and how to apply the method in their own research. Wide ranging and interdisciplinary, the text covers both well-established concepts and emerging ideas, such as big data and network analysis, for qualitative and quantitative research methods.
All entries feature extensive cross-referencing, providing ease of navigation and, pointing readers to related concepts, and to help build their overall understanding of research methods.