Talk to Explore U.S.-Turkey Relations

Şuhnaz Yilmaz, visiting professor at UCLA with appointments at the Luskin Schools of Public Affairs and Innovation, examines the complicated relationship between the United States and Turkey in a talk Wednesday, Oct. 5, at 3:15 p.m. in Hieronymus Lounge at Westmont’s Kerrwood Hall. “Challenges to Turkish-American Relations in a Turbulent Middle East,” co-sponsored by the Westmont provost’s office, global education, and the departments of political science and history, is free and open to the public.

“Yilmaz will explore issues such as Turkey’s position in and response to conflicts in the region, including Syria,” says Heather Keaney, associate professor of history and co-director of Westmont in Istanbul. “The rise of ISIS and the flight of Syrian refugees have had a profound impact on Turkey and how it relates to Syria, the EU and the U.S. Turkey is a NATO member, but is deeply opposed to the Kurdish fighters in Syria, who are the main ally of the U.S.-led coalition. Accordingly, Turkish-U.S. relations have become increasingly important and complicated.”

Yilmaz, an associate professor of international relations at Koç University in Istanbul, teaches international relations, Turkish foreign policy, Turkish-American relations, Middle Eastern politics, politics of former USSR and Central Asia, and European foreign and security policy.

Her work has been published in numerous journals such as Political Science Quarterly, Middle East Journal, Third World Quarterly, and World Today. Her book “Turkish-American Relations (1800-1952): Between the Stars, Stripes and the Crescent” (2015) examines the occasionally troubled, yet resilient Turkish-American alliance.

Yilmaz, a graduate of Bilkent University International Relations Department, earned a master’s and doctorate from Princeton University. She conducted post-doctoral Studies at Harvard University. She’s held visiting faculty positions in the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies, Stanford University and the Center for International Studies, Princeton University. In 2008, she won the Distinguished Young Scientist Award of the Turkish Academy of Sciences and in 2016, she received the Koç University Outstanding Teaching Award.