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Political Scientist · International Relations

Erman
Ermihan

Exploring the affective dimensions of foreign policy — where emotions, identity, and ontological security shape how states and leaders navigate an uncertain world.

Ontological Security Emotions in IR Turkish Foreign Policy EU–Turkey Relations Populism
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10+
Peer-reviewed publications
17
International conference papers
4
Courses taught
2025
PhD completed

Research focus
Ontological security, emotions in IR,
and Turkish foreign policy

01 / About

Scholarship at the
intersection of affect and power

Ontological Security Theory
Emotions and Affect in International Relations
Turkish Foreign Policy and De-Europeanization
EU–Turkey Relations
Populism and Political Psychology
Foreign Policy Analysis
Education
2019 – 2025
PhD, International Relations
Kadir Has University · GPA 3.94 · Full Scholarship
2017 – 2019
MA, Political Science
Sabancı University · GPA 3.36 · Full Scholarship
Feb – Jun 2016
Erasmus+ Exchange
Mannheim University, Germany
2013 – 2017
BA, International Relations
Istanbul Bilgi University · GPA 3.74 · 75% Scholarship
02 / Publications

Selected works

Article2026
"From sacred spaces to imperial glory: a deconstruction of civilizational discourses in Türkiye and Saudi Arabia"
Lacin Idil Oztig & Erman Ermihan
Globalizations
Read
Article2026
"The Abject Other in Turkish Politics: Populist Securitization, Affect, and the Victory Party"
Ceren Melis Kıcıroğlu, Erman Ermihan & Umut Can Adışönmez
Southeast European and Black Sea Studies
Read
Article2026
"The affective economy of aid: narcissistic security and the making of Türkiye's moral self"
Ceren Melis Kıcıroğlu & Erman Ermihan
Third World Quarterly
Read
Article2025
"Causal Mechanisms of Ontological (In)Security in Turkish Politics and Foreign Policy: Anxiety Transmittance from Sèvres to Lausanne"
Erman Ermihan & İrem Karamık
Turkish Studies
Read
Article2024
"The Self and the Other: Individual Emotions and Ontological Security in Turkish Foreign Policy"
Nasuh Sofuoğlu, Samer Sharani & Erman Ermihan
Alternatives: Global, Local, Political
Read
Article2024
"Emotions and norms in the Syrian refugee crisis: the comparative responses of the EU and Turkey"
Erman Ermihan & Sinem Akgül Açıkmeşe
Journal of European Integration
Read
Article2024
"End of jouissance, start of resentment: a Lacanian critical security approach to Turkey's relations with the West"
Erman Ermihan
Critical Studies on Security
Read
Article2023
"Quo Vadis, Turkish IR? Mapping Turkish IR's Footsteps within the Global"
İrem Karamık & Erman Ermihan
All Azimuth, 12(2): 241–260
Read
Article2023
"Feeling Imagined Spaces: Emotional Geographies in the EU–Turkey Relations"
İrem Karamık & Erman Ermihan
Uluslararası İlişkiler, 20(77): 71–88
Read
Chapter2025
"Turkey" — The Palgrave Geopolitical Atlas: State and Quasi-State Actors in Great Power Competition
Ceren Melis Kıcıroğlu, Erman Ermihan & Nuri Fudayl Kıcıroğlu
Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 193–208
Read
Chapter2026
"Politik Psikoloji: Duygular, Ontolojik Güvenlik ve Popülizmin Kesişimi"
Veli Özdemir & Erman Ermihan
Uluslararası İlişkilere Giriş — Orion Yayınları
Publisher
Chapter2023
"Türkiye'de Güvenlik Çalışmaları"
Sinem Akgül Açıkmeşe & Erman Ermihan
Türkiye'de Uluslararası İlişkiler Çalışmaları — İmge Kitabevi
Read
Commentary2026
"Staging Status in Ankara: Türkiye's Contested Identity at the NATO Summit"
Erman Ermihan — in "Panorama Asks: The NATO Summit in Ankara"
Global Panorama
Read
Opinion2026
"How Do Small States Survive? The Armenian Election Shows an Example"
Hyeran Jo, Efe Tokdemir & Erman Ermihan
E-International Relations
Read
Report2026
"Ontological Insecurity and Emotional Governance in Turkish Foreign Policy"
Karel Franco Valansi & Erman Ermihan
GA Reports
Read
Blog2025
"The European Union's Enlargement Dilemma: Is Nihilistic Responsibility the New Normal?"
Erman Ermihan & Nasuh Sofuoğlu
EU-VALUES Blog
Read
Blog2025
"AKP Döneminde Türkiye-AB İlişkileri: Duygular ve Dış Politika"
Erman Ermihan
Global Panorama
Read
03 / Teaching

Courses taught

IR 236 · Bilkent University · Spring 2026
20th Century World Politics
Undergraduate · Visiting Lecturer From the collapse of empires to the Cold War, decolonization, and the post-1989 order — a survey of the forces that shaped the modern international system.
PSIR 468 · Kadir Has University · Spring 2025
European Integration
Undergraduate · Visiting Lecturer Theoretical and empirical foundations of EU integration, enlargement policy, and the evolving relationship between Brussels and its neighbourhood.
IR-INT 313 · Kadir Has University · Summer 2024
International Relations Theory
Undergraduate · Visiting Lecturer A critical survey of IR theory from classical realism and liberalism through constructivism, critical theory, and post-positivist approaches.
IR-INT 210 · Kadir Has University · Summer 2023
Introduction to International Relations
Undergraduate · Visiting Lecturer Core concepts, actors, and structures of the international system; foundational theories and contemporary global issues.
04 / CV

Academic record

Positions
Postdoctoral Researcher
2025–2026
Bilkent University · Carnegie Great Realignment Project
Visiting Lecturer
2023–2026
Bilkent University & Kadir Has University
Publication Coordinator
2022–Present
Uluslararası İlişkiler Journal
Project Assistant Fellow
2023–2025
TÜBİTAK 3005 & 1002 · PI: Sinem Akgül Açıkmeşe
Under Review / Working Papers
"Emotions as an Intervening Variable in Neo-Classical Realism" (with D. Sönmez)
Under review
"The Politics of Bodily Refusal and Dance in Turkey" (with V. Özdemir & C.M. Kıcıroğlu)
Under review — Intersections
"Digital Sovereignty, Emotions, and Ontological Security" (with A. Gücüyener Evren & J. Franceschini)
Revise & Resubmit
"Emotions and Affect in UN Peacekeeping: R2P Operations" (with İ.B. Karaman-Yılmazgil & İ. Karamık)
Revise & Resubmit — International Peacekeeping

Full academic CV available for download

Download CV (PDF)
05 / Beyond Research

Public engagement

✍️
Co-Founder · Academic Blog
Academicus
Essays and commentary on IR, theory, and academic life.
→
🎙️
Co-Founder · Podcast
Paradigma
Conversations on international politics and social science.
→
06 / Games

Academic games corner

A little side project — interactive browser games about academic life and international relations.

🎓
Academic Job Simulator
Survive the postdoc years and land a permanent position.
Play →
🃏
IR Taboo
A classroom word game for IR concepts.
Play →
🌍
Crisis Simulator
Navigate an international crisis as a decision-maker.
Play →
07 / Contact

Get in touch

I welcome correspondence regarding research collaborations, conference invitations, editorial queries, and academic opportunities. Based in Istanbul.

@ermanermihan@gmail.com inLinkedIn Profile 𝕏@erman1995 ▶YouTube Channel igInstagram ♪SoundCloud
Affiliations

Global Academy — Researcher & Online Operations Coordinator
Uluslararası İlişkiler Journal — Publication Coordinator
Based in Istanbul, Türkiye