Before joining the University of Deusto, I held positions as a Marie Curie Fellow at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy) and Northwestern University (USA), a postdoctoral fellow at Stockholm University (Sweden) and an Open Society Fellow (USA). My academic research has been deeply rooted in understanding social movements and the transformation of civil society and civic spaces, particularly within the context of contested statehood and autocratising regimes. I focus on various forms of grassroots mobilisation, including those driven by women, youth, diaspora communities, labour groups, and environmental activists.
In my research, I am also interested in exploring the complex interplay between populism, religion, and nationalism and how their unique relationship often shapes the political landscape and influences the strategies employed by social movements and civil society actors.
I received my PhD degree from the University of Bath, UK, where my doctoral dissertation focused on the social and political dynamics and the emerging forms of local resistance against the third-party-driven democratisation and conflict resolution processes in Kosovo and Cyprus. This work allowed me to critically assess how external interventions interact with local socio-political realities and how grassroots movements can both challenge and cooperate with international institutional frameworks. Through this research, I have gained invaluable insights into the resilience and agency of communities navigating protracted conflict and contested statehood, fueling my passion for studying social movements in various contexts after my PhD.
BİLGE YABANCI 