The 21st Graduate Conference, which was organised by the Turkish Political Science Association (TPSA) and Antalya Bilim University Department of Political Science and International Relations, was held at our University on May 3, 2025. The conference started with the opening ceremony. Our Head of Departmnet Assoc. Prof. dr. Nermin Aydemir took the floor for the opening speech and emphasized that the diversity and topicality of the topics in the conference program are promising for the future of Political Science and International Relations education in Türkiye. Afterwards, Prof. Dr. Sabri SAYARI, Sabancı University Emeritus Professor and President of the TPSA, delivered his speech and expressed his satisfaction that this valuable conference, which has been organized since 2004, was held in cooperation with Antalya Bilim University. Our Rector Prof. Dr. Semih EKERCİN, who took the floor, stated that our University is proud to host such organizations that contribute to the production of academic knowledge.
Following the opening speeches, Akdeniz University Department of Political Science and Public Administration Head Prof. Dr. Faruk Ataay delivered his speech entitled “Where is the Global Order Headed?”. Prof. Dr. Ataay stated that the neoliberal transformation, which has been effective on a global scale in the last thirty years, has provided some gains in terms of welfare and freedoms, but has fallen short in terms of income inequality and expectations of justice. ATAAY, who associated the neoliberal crisis that has become visible today with rising authoritarianism and populism, made remarkable assessments about the near future.
Then, Prof. Dr. Mine Eder, Head of the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Boğaziçi University and TPSA Board Member, took the stage to present the “Nermin Abadan Unat Best Article Award” given by TPSA since 2022. After her speech about Prof. Dr. Nermin Abadan Unat, who has made significant contributions to the development of political science in Turkey, Prof. Dr. Eder announced this year’s award winner. Gülşen Doğan, a graduate student at Koç University, was awarded the 2025 Nermin Abadan Unat Best Article Award with her article entitled “Migration Governance Under Right-Wing Populism: The Istanbul Example. In the sessions that started after the Opening Ceremony as part of the conference, 104 graduate students presented a total of 92 papers.
