I am currently an Assistant Professor at Saint Louis University. Previously, I was a Research Fellow at the Carlos III – Juan March Institute of Social Sciences in Madrid and an Assistant Professor of International Relations at Özyeğin University.
I completed my B.A. in Economics at Koç University before being awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Claremont Graduate University, where I earned an M.A. in International Political Economy and a Ph.D. in Political Science and Economics.
My research lies at the intersection of International Relations, Comparative Politics, Political Economy, and Political Methodology. More specifically, my work investigates the demographic and economic consequences of major wars and the determinants of postwar recovery, with a focus on state capacity, foreign aid, foreign direct investment, and demographic change. I also study the measurement of political performance. As part of a large-scale data collection project, I revamped the Relative Political Capacity (RPC) dataset, extending its coverage back to 1900, and developed the new Absolute Political Capacity (APC) measure, which is an absolute, GDP-like indicator. In addition, I conduct research on international and regional conflict and integration processes.