I am Associate Professor in Political Science at the University of Amsterdam.
My research addresses concepual and empirical questions of border security, territoriality, technology and practices. It combines insights from Critical Security Studies, Political Geography and Postcolonial Theory. My current work is concerned with Eurocentric accounts with respect to the emergence of modern forms of population and territorial control.
My previous research, funded by a VENI grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO), examined the daily governance of migration and borders in Turkey. More information on this research can be obtained under the TRANSIT tab.
I am President (2023-2025) of the European International Studies Association (EISA), to which I was elected as Governing Board member in 2021. Before becoming President, I was managing the EISA's European Workshops in International Studies portfolio (2021-2023).
I am Editor and Rotating Editor-in-Chief (2022-2027) of International Political Sociology, which is an official journal of the International Studies Association. I am also on the editorial advisory board of Environment and Planning D: Society and Space.
I am co-leader of the 'Europe in the World' theme of Amsterdam Centre for European Studies (ACES) Amsterdam Centre for European Studies. I am co-convener (with Tasniem Anwar) of the ACES Online Series 'Decolonising Europe' Decolonising Europe.
I received my PhD in Political Science from the University of Tübingen (2014) with a scholarship by the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation. Previously, I was a postdoctoral researcher in the 'Europe and the World' theme of ACCESS EUROPE at the University of Amsterdam (2014-2015).
I teach courses in International Relations, Decolonial/Postcolonial Studies and European politics. I was Guest Faculty at the International Political Sociology Winter School at the Instituto de Relações Internacionais at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro in 2023.
TRANSIT examines Turkey's governance of migration and borders. It focusses on everyday practices of what is called 'transit' migration in Turkey. In the context of its membership negotiations with the EU, Turkey has made a number of legal and administrative changes to 'Europeanise' its border and migration policies. TRANSIT explores to what extent such changes are reflected in the daily practices of migration and border governance by Turkish security and political professionals. The research also looks at the daily interaction between Turkish officials and migrants and asks how such interaction affects migrants' decisions.
TRANSIT (2015-2019) is funded by a VENI grant from the Dutch Science Foundation (NWO) and is embedded in the Transnational Configurations, Conflict and Governance' programme group of the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR).
Specialisation Course International Relations
MA Research Project: Decolonising Europe: Colonialism, Empire and Race