Understanding
power. Exploring
international politics.
I am Ali Balcı, a professor of international relations. My work explores Turkish foreign policy, leader diplomacy, and the ideas and institutions that shape the international order.
Research interests
- High-level leader diplomacy
- UN Security Council
- Ottoman international politics
- International relations theory
- Turkish politics
- Research methods
My research connects the study of power and political ideas with empirical questions about diplomacy, foreign policy, and international institutions.
Based at Sakarya University, I teach international relations and Turkish foreign policy, alongside graduate courses in postcolonial studies and poststructuralism. My work also examines Ottoman international politics and the United Nations Security Council.
Read my short biography ↗Diplomacy, in focus.
Research projects exploring the patterns
and politics of high-level leader visits.
100 Years of
Leader Diplomacy
Building a comprehensive dataset of visits made and received by Türkiye’s presidents, prime ministers, and foreign ministers over a century.
Explore the project →Diplomatic
Links
Examining interstate relations in the Middle East through the patterns and dynamics of high-level leader visits between 1989 and 2023.
Explore the project →Turkish foreign policy · International relations theory · UN Security Council · Ottoman international politics
Selected books
& scholarship.
Türkiye Dış Politikası
İlkeler, Aktörler ve Uygulamalar (1774–2020)
View details ↗
Ortadoğu ve Postkolonyalizm
Pınar Yayınları · 2018
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The PKK’s Regional Politics
Palgrave Macmillan · 2017
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Birleşmiş Milletler Güvenlik Konseyi
Eleştirel Bir Giriş
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Dış Politikada Hesaplaşmak
AK Parti, Ordu ve Kemalizm
View details ↗
Uluslararası İlişkilere Giriş
Tarih, Teori, Kavram ve Konular
View details ↗Notes, analysis & perspectives.
Let’s continue
the conversation.
For academic correspondence, research collaboration,
and speaking enquiries.
Department of International Relations
Sakarya University
Sakarya, Türkiye