​I am an Assistant Professor of International Relations at Bilkent University in Ankara.

Previously, I was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Public Affairs and Citizenship. Prior to joining Syracuse, I also taught at New York University Abu Dhabi, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and at Loyola University. I received my Ph.D. in Political Science from Loyola University Chicago, specializing in International Relations and Comparative Politics. 

I research the links between international and domestic politics via social norms and ideologies. I investigate these dynamics within the realms of gender politics, international organizations, and conflict. I focus both on the second image, that is, how internal dynamics of actors influence international affairs; and on the second image reversed, namely, how international affairs impact actors’ internal dynamics.

My research has been published in World Politics and Security Studies, among others.  

My book, Public Preferences, Gender, and Foreign Support for Armed Movements (Cambridge University Press, Elements in Gender and Politics), examines how rebel groups are perceived by foreign audiences and how the presence of women fighters shapes those perceptions. Using original survey experiments in the United States and Tunisia together with cross-national data on external support, it shows that rebel groups with female combatants are seen as more legitimate, democratic, and less likely to harm civilians, which increases the likelihood that democratic states will provide material support. The book highlights how gender composition functions as a powerful signal in international politics.