Batıkan Bulut completed his visiting fellowship at the GIGA Instute

Research Assistant in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Izmir University of Economics, Batıkan Bulut, has successfully completed his six-month visiting research stay at the GIGA – German Institute for Global and Area Studies in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany, under the supervision of Dr. Christiane Fröhlich.

As part of the TÜBİTAK 2214-A International Research Fellowship Programme, he conducted the fieldwork for his PhD thesis on Turkey’s diaspora policy and its reproduction within a broader framework of governance. During his research visit, he carried out a mixed-method data collection involving civil society representatives, diaspora youth, and various social and political actors engaged in diaspora politics.

Throughout his stay, Batıkan presented his field findings at two international conferences and one seminar. On 14 April, he delivered his paper “From Grassroots to State Control: The State Engagement with the Turkish Diaspora” at the Political Studies Association’s “PSA25” conference in Birmingham, United Kingdom. On 22 May, he presented “Shaping the Diaspora: Turkey's New Diaspora Regime and the Role of Associations in Germany” at the European Society for Research on the Education of Adults (ESREA) conference “Navigating Uncertainty: Migration and Anti-Democratic Challenges” in Graz, Austria. Finally, on 25 June, he shared his draft article “Diaspora Turks and Their Political Participation in the Turkish Assembly” at the GIGA Institute’s IMES Colloquium.

In addition to the TÜBİTAK fellowship, Batıkan was awarded the GIGA Institute’s merit-based scholarship following the completion of his TÜBİTAK grant, as well as the ESREA doctoral student scholarship for conference participation. 

He will continue his affiliation with the GIGA Institute as an associate researcher to further advance his work.

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Batıkan on these achievements and wish him continued success in his research and academic career.