About
I hold an MA in Asian Studies from Boğaziçi University. I base my work on the elite theories of Michels, Pareto, and Mosca, and Weberian theories, and focus primarily on Japan and South Korea. With regards to Japan, I am interested in elite, religious, and party politics, while for South Korea I am interested in Korean “comfort women”, national identities and the Korean Wave. I am also interested in urban sociology, focusing on how the socio-political finds its reflections on the city.
My master’s thesis titled “Understanding Jimintō (Liberal Democratic Party) Factionalism as a Structure of Elite Circulation in Japanese Politics” focuses on LDP factions as structures through which circulation of elites occurs in the political circles of Japan, with an eye towards both a better understanding of LDP’s factions within the context of Japan’s ruling class and to add to the existing literature on elite theory as well.
In part, I am using my work as a way to advance elite theories as an alternative approach to Japanese politics, moving beyond a dichotomy of cultural and functional-structural approaches. I am also committed to doing comparative research, to better situate the insight from research on Japan and Korea out of a position of exceptionalism and to advance inter-regional academic dialogue.
Through my blog, I am also working to bring both historic and contemporary issues about Asia to a broader audience, as Asia becomes more important in our lives and in international relations. Education
BSc. Global and International Affairs, 2019, Middle East Technical University
BSc. Global and International Affairs, 2019, SUNY at Binghamton
BA. Sociology, 2019, SUNY at Binghamton
MA. Asian Studies, 2022, Boğaziçi University Work Shared in CORE
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Memberships
Association for Asian Studies, March 2019
Asiatic Society of Japan, March 2019
Japanese Studies Association (Japonya Araştırmaları Derneği), April 2021