Işık Kuşçu Bonnenfant
Central Eurasia, Peace and Conflict Studies, Migration and Diaspora Studies, Uyghurs, Cypriots, Kazakhs
About me
I received my PhD in December 2008 from the Department of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University, with political science as a minor. I teach at the International Relations Department of Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara. I also teach and chair the Eurasian Studies Department of METU. I was a visiting scholar at the Davis Center, Harvard University, in the 2016-17 academic year. I am a British Academy Newton Fellow.
My research interests cover the former Soviet region, peace and conflict studies, as well as migration and diaspora studies. I have published in journals such as International Migration, Central Asian Survey, Nationalities Papers, and International Political Science Review.
More about me:
Increasing inequality at global and local levels is affecting us as a whole, even if we are not directly exposed to these problems in some relatively prosperous parts of the world.
Yet, what we miss is that we can cannot feel entirely in peace in the literal and figurative sense as long as other parts of the community suffer.
Being a woman helps me, sometimes in powerful ways, to understand these challenges better, particularly for more vulnerable populations such as women and children. As a female scholar who grew up and spent most of her adult life in Turkey, having studied and lived in the West with an academic regional focus in the former Soviet space has contributed to my understanding that many problems are common everywhere, albeit in different ways. They have mostly socio-political-cultural roots; in addition, these stem from difficulties in empathizing with others and a lack of a negotiation culture at individual and collective levels.
The aim of this platform is to share my views on things that relate to us.
RESEARCH PROJECT
Reuniting Cyprus: British-Cypriot Diaspora as Peace Agents
This project aims to explore and analyze the transformative role of the Cypriot diaspora in Britain in building peace in Cyprus. This will be done through archival research collection, qualitative interviews and the first large-n survey to be conducted among Cypriots in Britain.
It introduces the first collaborative research program focusing on the Greek and Turkish Cypriot diaspora and proposes a series of activities to study and encourage its positive engagement and inclusion in the current peace talks.
An estimated quarter of the Cyprus population lives as diaspora in Britain. These communities engage in activities, which insinuate their desire to be involved in homeland politics. Yet, so far, there has been little effort to study diaspora perceptions of conflict or to engage their community organizations into the ongoing peace process.
The project will also result in closer collaboration between Turkish, Greek, British and Cypriot researchers, aiming in particular to draw knowledge and training from the Conflict Analysis Research Centre (CARC) at the University of Kent.
At the policy level, the project will engage with UN mediators in Cyprus, potential donors, and UK-based investors invited to attend high-level meetings with the diaspora in the United Kingdom.
Project staff is based in the Middle East Technical University and University of Kent.
The project is funded by the British Academy.
For more information, please visit the project website.
