Dear Bilkent University Members,
The Library is very pleased to invite you to attend the Library Lunchtime Lecture for the 2025-2026 Spring Semester.
Title: Countering Insurgency/Terrorism: Severing the Ties between Non-State Armed Actors & Their Constituency
Speaker: Assoc. Prof. Efe Tokdemir, Department of International Relations
Place: Art Gallery, Bilkent University Library
Date: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Time: 12.30-13.20
The lecture will be in English.
Lunchtime refreshments will be supplied!
Abstract: Policymakers and scholars have long approached countering armed conflicts as a military problem. This is because previous works largely conceptualize counter-terrorism/insurgency as a dyadic action between states and non-state armed actors (NSAA), and overemphasize coercive strategies despite strong evidence that military defeat of such groups is rare and often counterproductive. In this project, Dr. Tokdemir introduces a novel triadic framework to investigate the interactive nature of relations between government, NSAA and citizens during a conflict. Particularly, he examines under what conditions and how NSAAs engage with their constituents, and what makes governments to strategically respond to the constituency relations to sever the ties between the two. By employing a constituency-centered perspective, this project will also avail the identification of both attractive and repressive strategies targeting NSAAs’ constituents in combatting radicalization, insurgency, and terrorism. Overall, Dr. Tokdemir argues that we should turn our focus towards modeling the causes and outcomes of these efforts and investigate the mechanisms that render those strategies successful, or not, given that military power is neither the only, nor the most effective tool in governments’ arsenal.
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 has previously been a postdoctoral fellow of ISA James N. Rosenau Fellowship (2017-2018), visiting fellow at The Ohio State University’s Mershon Center for International Security Studies (2016-2018) and visiting scholar at The University of Chicago’s CPOST program (2024-2025).
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. His works have so far appeared in, among others, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Peace Research, Political Behavior, Conflict Management and Peace Science, Terrorism & Political Violence, International Interactions. 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.
Dr. Tokdemir has previously received “Young Scientist Award (BAGEP)” from Science Academy of Türkiye in 2019, “Award for Outstanding Young Scientist” (GEBIP) from Turkish Academy of Sciences in 2020, The Sakip Sabanci International Research Award in 2021, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye Incentive Award in 2023, and International Relations Council of Türkiye Young Scholars Award in 2024, and awarded with TUBITAK National Young Leader Researchers Program during 2022-2025.
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
Best Regards,
Bilkent University Library