Mira Demirdirek

Doctoral Researcher

Mira Demirdirek

  • Short CV

    • Since 08/2023 Member of  GIGA Doctoral Programme
    • Since 07/2023 PhD candidate at the Institute of Political Science, University of Tübingen
    • Since 03/2022 Research fellow at the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies
    • 01/2019 - 03/2019 Research internship with DIGNITY Kwanza (Dar es Salaam) as part of the EU-Horizon2020 research consortium "Transnational Figurations of Displacement" (TRAFIG)
    • 2018 - 2019 Student research assistant at the GIGA Institute for African Affairs
    • 01/2018 - 03/2018 Internship at the GIGA Institute for African Affairs
    • Education: MA in African Studies, Leiden University; BA in Sociology and Political Science, University of Hamburg and University of Ghana

    Current Research

    • Turkish foreign policy (toward Africa)

    Countries and Regions

    • Turkey
    • African continent (external actors)
    • Tanzania (refugee policy)

     


    Dissertation

    • (Dis)continuities in Turkey's Africa Policy

    Mira Demirdirek

    Doctoral Researcher

    T. +49 40 42825-622mira.demirdirek@giga-hamburg.de


    GIGA Focus Global | 6/2022

    Bolstering the Bromances: Turkey’s and Iran’s Tightening Ties with Africa

    The war against Ukraine has created possibilities for emerging actors in Africa – such as Iran and Turkey – to scale up their engagement with the continent. This Focus deals with the question of how the changing global dynamics are allowing Iran and Turkey to boost their ties across the African continent.

    Research Project | 01/03/2022 - 28/02/2025

    Explaining Middle-Power Engagement in External Regions: A Comparison of Iranian, Saudi, and Turkish Sub-Saharan Africa Policies

    By means of a comparative historical analysis of Iranian, Saudi-Arabian, and Turkish engagement in Africa following the continent’s decolonization processes and running up until 2020, this project seeks to make sense of middle-power engagement in external regions. First, the project will identify the periods of shifting IST engagement in Africa. Second, it will analyze the reasons why, and the conditions under which, IST have stepped up—or reduced—their foreign policy efforts in Africa. Third, it will develop mid-range generalizations on middle-power engagement in external regions.
    DFG, 2022-2025

    Conference | 14/06/2023 - 16/06/2023

    Turkey and Iran in Africa: Invigorated Geopolitical Visions in the Face of the Russian War against Ukraine

    Offene Sektionstagung der Sektion „Internationale Beziehungen“ der PVPW, Friedrichshafen Organisers: German Political Science Association, Sektion "Internationale Beziehungen", DVPW Mira Demirdirek (Speaker), Hamid Talebian (Speaker)

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