Glatfelter Hall
Room 312
300 North Washington St.
Gettysburg, PA 17325-1400
Education
BS Middle East Technical University (Ankara, Turkey), 2001
PhD University of Missouri–Columbia, 2006
Academic Focus
International Relations, Religion and Conflict, Foreign Policy Analysis
Yasemin Akbaba is a Professor in Political Science Department and co-editor of the journal International Studies Perspectives. Professor Akbaba teaches courses in International Relations with a focus on religion, ethnicity and conflict.
Professor Akbaba’s research focuses on role of religion in international relations and foreign policy analysis with special interests in ethnic and religious groups. She has authored/co-authored several journal articles that have appeared in Political Studies,Journal of Peace Research,Comparative European Politics, Foreign Policy Analysis, Politics and Religion, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, Ethnopolitics, Civil Wars, International Interactions, Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion, Politics, Religion & Ideology, and others. Her co-authored book, Role Theory in the Middle East and North Africa, applies role theory to Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) of Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
She is interested in research on teaching. She had received Gettysburg College’s Thompson Award for distinguished teaching and UMC’s (Political Science Department) Excellence in Teaching Award.
Courses Taught
This course examines the role religions play in escalating conflict and promoting peacebuilding. As global religious fault lines emerge, even Western democracies face the challenge of enhancing unity in diversity. In a time when religion is associated with either religious extremist groups or exclusionary policies, there is need to recognize how religions and religious actors could advance conflict resolution. It is equally important to acknowledge that religion is a supercharger is various conflicts. In addition to reviewing an interdisciplinary scholarship on the subject matter, this course highlights examples of religion based conflicts in different regions and initiatives of faith-based actors as peacemakers.
Examination of the behavior of states and non-state actors in the international system. Topics include systems analysis, nationalism, power, foreign policy, international institutions, interdependence and the world economy, conflict and cooperation, global environmental and ecological issues.
Ethnically based hostilities continue to pose a significant threat to contemporary international security. This course aims to develop an understanding of the nature of ethnicity, ethnic identity and role of ethnic groups in international politics. The goal of the course is to introduce fundamental concepts and major theoretical approaches to contemporary analysis of ethnic groups with a specific focus on eight cases of ethnic conflict across the globe. Prerequisite: POL 103
This course explores key theories, debates, events and issues in international politics through film and literature. It aims to provide students with an opportunity to unveil aspects of human condition in various political contexts though experiences of fictional characters. The course is divided into two
major parts. We will begin with the theories of International Relations (IR). In this part we will use the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) to understand principles of IR. Tolkien’s imaginary world provides a tangible setting for abstract theoretical concepts of IR. We will zoom into the timeless story of LOTR through the film adaptations. (No prior knowledge on LOTR is required or assumed.) The second
part will explore three IR topics: interstate and civil wars, the Cold War rivalry, and human security. Although LOTR could be stretched to understand most aspects of these three topics, we will rely on additional visual material to examine various components of each theme.
Exploration of announced topics in international politics at the advanced level. Prerequisite: POL 103
Turkey is a democratic, secular, and predominantly Muslim country. It has a rapidly growing economy, making it one of the twenty largest economies in the world. Moreover, due to its geographic proximity to Iraq, Iran and Israel, and energy reserves of the Caspian Sea and Central Asia, Turkey is an important international actor especially for the West. Turkey’s unique domestic political attributes and international role in between Europe and the Middle East makes it an intriguing case for political scientists.
This course seeks to familiarize students with the main issues around which politics revolves in Turkey during the post-1980 period. Using scholarly work conducted on different dimensions of politics in Turkey, special attention will be paid to the discussion of the issues of the consolidation of democracy, civil society, secularism, the rise of Islam, nationalism, identity politics, socio-economic changes, political parties and modernity in order to be able to capture the essence of the changing nature of Turkish politics.
Advanced study of international relations. A common core of reading and written reports by each student is provided. Topics differ each year. Prerequisite: POL 103 and 215; Senior standing and declared POL major.