Research Interests: Political History of Modern Italy, Italian Mafia, Anti-mafia Movements, Social Movements, Civil Society, Political Corruption, Discourse Analysis, Mediterranean Politics and Society. 

I have a BA degree in Political Science (High Honour) from Bilkent University (Turkey), 2007; and a MSc degree in Public Administration from the University of Twente (Netherlands), 2008; I was Visiting Scholar at the Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, School of Criminal Justice during the Fall term 2010. I continue my doctoral degree at the University of Camerino in Italy and the title of my research is ''Italian Civil Society Against the Mafia: Perceptions, Expectations and Ant-Mafia Policy Analysis''.

Current Research: The power of the Mafia in Italy has leaded to question anti-mafia policies and its effectiveness critically at the same time. There is relatively very little empirical research on the role of the civil society and NGOs in the fight against the Mafia. Moreover, there is not so much insight to attain a structural and clear perspective about the role of the civil society and future risks and opportunities in the combat against the Mafia. In this respect, my research hopefully fills a void in anti-mafia studies and the civil society’s role which has been as a neglected stakeholder in the field for the last two decades. Besides, this study has moved from the spectrum of cultural sociology as a departure point of view to the arena of social movements as being the crucial instrument for the creation of a new culture by the civil society against the violence.During my research at the University of Oxford, I am planning to develop a new theoretical framework and meta-level analysis so as to figure out how civil society's role against the Mafia can be more effective and I will analyze the interviews that I have conducted with the civil society representatives in Italy.