Ezgi Uzun Teker

Asst. Prof. of International Relations & Iranian Studies

Selected Courses & Descriptions

PSIR 360 / POLS 536: Turkish Foreign Policy

This course provides a comprehensive overview of Turkish foreign policy from the late Ottoman era to the present day. It examines the major historical milestones, theoretical underpinnings, and contemporary challenges shaping Türkiye’s role in global and regional politics. The course is structured in two parts: Part I covers the historical trajectory of Turkish foreign policy, highlighting continuities and transformations across key periods. Part II focuses on Türkiye’s relations with major international and regional actors, exploring contemporary issues through policy analysis and debate.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

  • Identify key historical milestones, turning points, and recurring patterns in Turkish foreign policy.
  • Explain the main conceptual and theoretical tools used to analyze state behavior and apply them to the Turkish case.
  • Compare and contrast different historical periods of Turkish foreign policy, highlighting core continuities and transformations.
  • Analyze Türkiye’s relations with major global and regional actors using empirical evidence and scholarly debates.
  • Develop and present well-reasoned arguments in oral debates and written policy papers, demonstrating teamwork and academic integrity.
  • Follow, interpret, and critically assess contemporary developments in Turkish foreign policy using reliable sources and relating them to theoretical and historical knowledge.

POLS 526: Current Issues in World Politics / IR 453: Major Issues in World Politics

This course is a conversation. In an era where individual lives are exponentially impacted by systemic shocks—such as armed conflicts, global pandemics, economic crises, and environmental risks—it is designed as a deep, lively conversation on the challenges of the world order we live in and the collective destination we are heading toward. Given that many of these crises transcend local, regional, or national boundaries, prospective social scientists must explore the complexities of these major issues at the global level, their manifestations across different settings, and potential policy responses. Anyone interested in engaging in this conversation, examining the major trends afflicting our lives, and thinking about possible futures is warmly welcome to this course.

The course adopts a holistic approach to world politics, enriching major international relations themes with theoretical interventions from anthropology, political economy, and gender studies, among others. Theoretical discussions will be supported weekly by contemporary case studies. The knowledge-centered teaching component is complemented by a skills-centered approach, where students practice synthesizing learned concepts, theories, and empirical evidence to produce short policy-oriented writing assignments on pressing global issues. Accordingly, the course objectives are to:

  • develop an appreciation for the complexities of the major issues afflicting world politics today;
  • provide a set of variegated theoretical lenses as a basis for rigorous debate on world politics;
  • train students in the preliminary analytical, data collection, and research skills necessary for the study of world politics;
  • engage students in academic, policy-, and resolution-oriented discussions on contemporary global issues;
  • help students cultivate higher-order thinking skills;
  • introduce students to novel forms of social science writing to be utilized in their future work.

PSIR 211 / POLS 555: Introduction to International Relations

The goal of this course is to provide students with a foundational conceptual, theoretical, empirical, and methodological understanding of International Relations (IR). An analytical understanding and critical evaluation of core concepts, actors,processes, and theories in the field will be central to both the course content and teaching methodology. Accordingly, the course objectives are to:

  • explore the historical evolution of IR as a discipline by focusing on major turning points in world history and the corresponding shifts in our understanding of global politics;
  • introduce students to diverse analytical and theoretical approaches for comprehending central issues in world politics;
  • define and discuss core topics in the discipline—such as peace and conflict, the modern international system,development, and inequality—through active learning methodologies, including case studies, in-class exercises, and debates.

PSIR 112: History of International Relations II

This course explores the evolution of the international system, great power rivalries, and global political transformations from the 1870s to the present. The primary objective is to move beyond a traditional Eurocentric narrative by examining the global impact of world wars, Cold War polarizations, the collapse of colonial empires, and the rise of the Global South. Throughout the semester, special emphasis will be placed on how critical developments in the non-Western world—such as the Chinese Revolution, Indian Independence, and nationalist movements in the Middle East—reshaped the modern international system. In the final section, the course analyzes the post-9/11 security architecture and ongoing debates regarding the decline of American hegemony, enabling students to interpret contemporary world politics through a rigorous historical lens.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

  • Historical Analysis: Analyze key diplomatic and political events that have shaped the international system from the late 19th century to the early 21st century within a chronological and thematic framework.
  • Global Perspective: Evaluate international history from a multidimensional perspective that encompasses not only Western powers but also the decolonization and revolutionary processes across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
  • Ideological Understanding: Comprehend how major ideologies—such as Fascism, Nazism, Communism, and Liberalism—transformed 20th-century world politics and interstate relations.
  • Continuity and Change: Distinguish similarities and differences across distinct eras in world politics.
  • Critical Thinking: Critically assess the impact of major historical turning points—such as the September 11 attacks and global power shifts—on modern diplomacy and international security.

POLS 326: Politics and Society in the Middle East

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a deep, comprehensive, and holistic understanding of the Middle East. Designed in an interdisciplinary format, the course introduces a wide array of topics related to the region’s history,politics, political economy, security, and international relations from multiple disciplinary perspectives. The knowledge-centered teaching component is complemented by a skills-centered approach, where students practice synthesizing learned conceptual tools, theories, and historical knowledge to produce short academic and policy-oriented writing assignments on contemporary regional issues. Accordingly, the course objectives are to:

  • develop an appreciation for the complexities of the Middle East, along with its political, institutional, economic,and ideological consistencies and variations across time and space;
  • train students in the preliminary analytical, data collection, and research skills necessary for the study of the Middle East;
  • engage students in academic, policy-, and resolution-oriented debates on contemporary issues afflicting the region;
  • help students cultivate higher-order thinking skills;
  • introduce students to novel forms of social science writing to be utilized in their future work.

PSIR 251: Analytical Reading and Writing in Social Sciences

The core purpose of this course is for students to master the fundamentals of rhetoric while directly engaging with the ideas of pivotal writers and foundational texts in the social sciences. The course focuses on analyzing texts, building compelling arguments, and crafting rigorous writing supported by primary and secondary evidence. The curriculum is divided into two parts. In PART I, students learn core principles and practice analytical reading through exposure to diverse text types, including presidential addresses, news coverage, op-eds, and peer-reviewed journal articles. In PART II, students apply these foundations to analytical writing. By the end of the course, students work in pairs to author an evidence-based academic essay that incorporates a well-formulated research question, a concise literature review, a clear research design, primary/secondary data analysis, and a structured, hierarchical argument.

PSIR 480: Applied Research in Political Science

This capstone course offers hands-on experience in conducting scientific research within political science and international relations, culminating in an independent research paper. Students are guided through the complete research process: selecting a topic, formulating research question(s), synthesizing a literature review, constructing a theoretical framework, designing a methodology, gathering/analyzing data, and drawing conclusions with a full bibliography.Throughout the semester, students submit structured assignments on designated deadlines that progressively build toward the final research paper, which will be submitted and orally presented at the end of the term.

Having completed the essential readings and course activities, students will be able to:

  • develop a coherent research design on a topic in political science and/or international relations;
  • produce a well-structured academic paper—featuring a clear research question, literature synthesis, empirical data,and analysis—suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed academic journal;
  • present, explain, and defend their research findings in an academic setting.

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