Prof. Murat Yeşiltaş completed his B.A. and M.A. in International Relations at Sakarya University in 2003 and 2009, respectively, and earned his Ph.D. in Political Science and International Relations from Marmara University in 2012 with a dissertation titled “Locating Turkey: Geopolitical Mentality and the Army in Turkey.” He has held visiting researcher positions at Lancaster University’s Department of European Studies and International Politics (2008–2009) and at Virginia Tech’s Institute of Government and International Relations (2010–2011). Currently, he is a Professor in the Department of International Relations at the Social Sciences University of Ankara and serves as the Director of Foreign and Security Studies at SETA Foundation, Ankara, Türkiye.
Prof. Yeşiltaş’s research focuses on international security, terrorism, military studies, ethnic and religious radicalization, non-state conflicts, and Kurdish politics. His ongoing projects include The Rise of Kurdish Geopolitical Space, Border Security in the Middle East, and The New Regional Security Project in the Middle East (NRSP). Among his recent publications are Türkiye Dünyanın Neresinde? Hayali Coğrafyalar, Çarpışan Anlatılar (edited volume, Koç University Press, 2015), Jeopolitik Zihniyet ve Türkiye’de Ordu (Kadim, 2016), and Non-State Military Actors in the Middle East: Geopolitics, Ideology and Strategy (edited volume, Palgrave Macmillan, 2017). Additional works include Küresel Dönüşüm Sürecinde Türkiye’nin Büyük Stratejisi (co-authored with Ferhat Pirinççi, SETA, 2020), Ortadoğu’da Güvenlik, Savunma ve Silahlanma (with Rıfat Öncel, SETA, 2021), Savunma Politikalarına Giriş (edited with Ferhat Pirinçi, SETA, 2021), and Turkey’s Foreign Policy: A Century of Strategic Transformation (SETA, 2024).