German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

Mira Demirdirek

Research Fellow

Short CV

Since 03/2022 Research fellow at the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies
01/2019 - 03/2019 Internship with DIGNITY Kwanza (Dar es Salaam) as part of 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 towards Africa

Countries and Regions

Turkey
West Africa (particularly Ghana)
Tanzania

Research Programmes

Global Orders and Foreign Policies

Mira Demirdirek

Research Fellow

T. +49 (0) 40 - 42825-622 mira.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.

Mira Demirdirek

Research Fellow

Hamid Talebian

Doctoral Researcher

TRAFIG working paper | 09/2021

Figurations of Displacement in and beyond Tanzania - Reflections on protracted displacement and translocal connections of Congolese and Burundian refugees in Dar es Salaam

Catherina Wilson

Bishara Msallam

Joan Kabyemela

Mira Demirdirek

Jovin Sanga

Janemary Ruhundwa

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

Speaker, Speaker | 10/06/2021