Dear Bilkent University Members,
The Bilkent University Library is pleased to invite you to the Library Lunchtime Lecture for the academic year 2025-2026.
Title: Countering Insurgency/Terrorism: Severing the Ties between Non-State Armed Actors and Their Constituency
Speaker: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Efe Tokdemir, Department of International Relations
Place: Art Gallery, Bilkent University Library
Date: 25.02.2026
Time: 12.30 – 13.20
Abstract: In this talk, Dr. Tokdemir introduces a novel triadic framework to investigate the interactive nature of relations between governments, non-state armed actors, and citizens during conflict. He explores the conditions under which NSAAs engage with their constituents and how governments strategically respond to these relationships in order to sever the ties between them. Overall, the talk emphasizes the need to shift attention toward understanding the causes, outcomes, and mechanisms of these strategies, given that military power is neither the only nor the most effective tool in governments’ arsenals.
Dr. Efe Tokdemir is an Associate Professor of International Relations at Bilkent University, and Director of Research at Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research. He earned his PhD in Political Science from Binghamton University (2017), and BA in Boğaziçi University (2012). Dr. Tokdemir’s research is on conflict processes, specifically non-violent strategies in civil war, foreign policy and public opinion, political use of force using observational and experimental data analysis. Dr. Tokdemir’s book “Battle for Allegiance: Governments, Terrorist Groups, and Constituencies in Conflict” has been published by University of Michigan Press in 2020. Dr. Tokdemir has been awarded with the ERC Consolidator Grant 2025 to pursue his works on the role of armed actors’ constituents in counterinsurgency efforts.
The lecture will be in English.
Lunchtime refreshments will be supplied!
For previous Lunchtime Lecture Events, please visit https://library.bilkent.edu.tr/lunchtime-lectures/
Video recordings of previous lectures are available to watch on the Bilkent University Library YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/BilkentLibrary