Graduate Students

Graduate Student Directory

  • PhD Program 
    Muuhammet Akkus makkus1@binghamton.edu Comparative Politics, Religion and Politics, Political Violence, Religious Movements, State Capacity, Public Opinion
    Hazal Aktas haktas@binghamton.edu Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, Civil War and Peace Processes, Kin state politics, Ethnic Identity鈥  
    Rael
    Almonte Reyes    		 ralmont4@binghamton.edu Election Systems, Democratic Deconsolidation, Political Economy, Political Behavior, Latin America & the Carribean

    Sunghyuk (Justin) An san4@binghamton.edu International Relations, International Security, Alliance Politics, Propaganda and Media as Tools of Leader Survival
    Mutlu Dilara Aydin maydin@binghamton.edu International Political Economy, international trade, infrastructure and development, and economic statecraft
    Shambralyn
    Baker    		 sbaker13@binghamton.edu International environmental politics, international institutions and law, biodiversity politics  
    Kathleen
    Bannon    		 kbannon1@binghamton.edu American Foreign Policy, International Relations, Bureaucratic Politics
    Toan Bui tbui6@binghamton.edu Public Policy, International Relations, environmental politics
    Gene Bullock ebullock2@binghamton.edu International relations, international organizations, and political philosophy
    Dana Buralkieva dburalkiyeva@binghamton.edu Authoritarianism, human rights, digitalization and politics, and propaganda
    Hayden Burke hburke5@binghamton.edu Redistricting, Congress, and campaigns & elections  
    Selman Buyukkara sbykkara@binghamton.edu Comparative Politics, Party Politics, Public Policy
    Ekin Cengiz ocengiz1@binghamton.edu    
    Hsun Chang hchang19@binghamton.edu International Political Economy, Energy Governance, International Security
     Tyler
    Clarke    		 tclarke3@binghamton.edu Congressional Behavior, Elections & Campaigns, Representation, Voting Behavior, American Politics
    Furkan
    Emer    		 femer1@binghamton.edu International Relations, Civil-Military Relations 
    Viktorya Erdogu verdogu@binghamton.edu Human Rights, Authoritarian Regimes, Domestic Politics in IR, Legitimation Strategies 
    Da Gao dgao9@binghamton.edu IPE, sustainable development, environmental policy  
    Alice
    Hong    		 yhong33@binghamton.edu Protest and State Repression, Social Media and Political Violence,Surveillance, Digital Repression, NGOs.  
    Oguzhan Irguren oirgure1@binghamton.edu Domestic Politics & IR, Foreign Policy, Socialization  
    Abdinasir
    Jimale    		 ajimale1@binghamton.edu Civil wars, rebel governance, terrorism, political violence, and African politics  
    Hadis Karatashi hkaratashi@binghamton.edu Comparative politics, human rights, conflict, and human trafficking
    Nayoung Kwon nkwon@binghamton.edu    
    Enzo Jeson Li eli19@binghamton.edu Migration, conflict, forced movement
    Yenting Lin ylin91@binghamton.edu East Asian politics, Taiwan鈥揅hina relations, digital repression and international relations

    Mary Lind mlind@binghamton.edu Digital repression, human rights, cyber conflict, armed non-state actors

    Ezgi
    Muftuoglu    		 emuftuo1@binghamton.edu    
    Raphaela M. Oliveira roliveira@binghamton.edu Democracy, Social Rights, Latin America, Authoritarianism.
    Anton Onishchenko aonishchenko@binghamton.edu Authoritarianism, institutional transformations, democratic transition
    Omer Deniz Ozdemir mzdemir@binghamton.edu International Relations, Foreign Policy, Domestic Politics  
    Alexander
    Perdue    		 aperdue2@binghamton.edu Political Violence, White Nationalism/Supremacy, Legacies of Political Violence

    Kaan
    Sener    		 ksener1@binghamton.edu    
    Moyan
    Shi    		 mshi12@binghamton.edu International conflicts, authoritarian regimes, state violence, terrorism  
    Roberta Villaca robertavillaca@binghamton.edu Political and Criminal Violence, Latin America
    TianYi
    Zhao    		 tzhao19@binghamton.edu    
  • MA Program
    Bora Sinan  sbora1@binghamton.edu International Relations, Ethnic Groups  

Student Excellence Award Winners

  • Student Excellence Awards
    • Alice Hong (Teaching 2026)
    • Abdinasir Jimale (Teaching 2026)
    • Michael Catalano (Research 2023)
    • Tara Riggs (Teaching 2023)
    • Mert Can Bayar (Teaching 2022)
    • Esol Cho (Teaching 2022)
    • Roya Izadidastgerdi (Teaching, 2021)
    • Christine Sylvester (Teaching, 2020)
    • Marc Davignon (Teaching, 2020)
    • Allison Bugenis (Teaching, 2019)
    • Jeremy Berkowitz (Teaching, 2018)
    • Mert Moral (Research, 2017)
    • Halil Ozen (Research, 2016)
    • Scott Boddery (Research, 2015)
    • Graig Klein (Research, 2015)
    • Sheryl Symons (Teaching, 2015)
    • Ben Farrer (Research, 2014)
    • Josh Zingher (Research, 2014)
    • Chad Clay (Research, 2012)
    • Ian Farrell (Teaching, 2011)

Student Publications

  • Graduate Student Publications

    Lavelle, Meridith and Mary Lind. "Human rights could improve 鈥 or worsen 鈥 based on how nations use the UN Treaty Against Cybercrime." Forthcoming in The Conversation. 

    Emer, F. (2026). Bargaining without guns: Military leaders going public. International Interactions, 52(1), 92鈥123. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050629.2025.2609082

    Akcinaroglu, S., & Evirgen, Y. (2025). Ripe moments for terror attacks: Opportunity benefits鈥搑eputation  tradeoff. Conflict Management and Peace Science, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/07388942251317110

    Yigit, 脰. (2025). Shifts in Religious Instrumentalization: Friday Sermons and Ethnic Conflict in Turkey. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 1鈥23. https://doi.org/10.1080/13537113.2025.2458572

    Bayrali, O. G., & Jimale, A. (2025). COVID-19 Pandemic in Somalia, South Africa and Zimbabwe: Why do Leaders Love COVID-19 Precautions?. In COVID-19 and Public Policy (Vol. 33, pp. 177-197). Emerald Publishing Limited.

    Heller, W., Muftuoglu, E., & Rosenberg, D. (2023). The institutional underpinnings of policymaking in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. In O. Shvetsova (Ed.), Government responses to COVID-19 pandemic: Between a Rock and a Hard Place. Palgrave Macmillan.

    Zhao, T. (2023). Center-regional political risk sharing in the COVID-19 public health crisis: Nigeria and South Africa. In O. Shvetsova (Ed.), Government responses to COVID-19 pandemic:andemic: Between a Rock and a Hard Place. Palgrave Macmillan.

    Bayrali, O. (2023). Pick your poison: Political expediencies, economic necessities, and COVID-19 response in Malaysia and Indonesia. In O. Shvetsova (Ed.), Government responses to COVID-19 pandemic:andemic: Between a Rock and a Hard Place. Palgrave Macmillan.

    Bayar, M. C., & Seyis, D. (2023). Populist responses to COVID-19: Turkey and Israel as cases of pro-science populism and the United States and Brazil as examples of science-skeptic populism. In O. Shvetsova (Ed.), Government responses to COVID-19 pandemic: Between expediency and inequality. Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chu, H. (2023). The Visegrad populist leaders鈥 responses to COVID-19 pandemic. In O. Shvetsova (Ed.), Government responses to COVID-19 pandemic: andemic: Between a Rock and a Hard Place. Palgrave Macmillan.pp/ 177-196.

    Catalano, M., & Chan, A. (2023). Common law systems and COVID-19 policy response: Protective public health policy in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. In O. Shvetsova (Ed.), Government responses to COVID-19 pandemic: andemic: Between a Rock and a Hard Place. Palgrave Macmillan.

    Hyoungrohk Chu. 2023. 鈥淭he Visegrad Populist Leaders鈥 Responses to COVID-19 Pandemic鈥 In: Shvetosva Olga (Ed.) Government Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Between a Rock and a Hard Place. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 177-196.

    Akcinaroglu, S., & Shi, M. (2023). Exploring the Impact of Cryptocurrency on Terrorism.          Terrorism and Political Violence, 1鈥25. 

    Cingranelli, D., Mark, S., & Sadykova DuMond, A. (2023). Democracy, Capacity, and the Implementation of Laws Protecting Human Rights. Laws, 12(1), 6.


    Ye, H. (2023). Delayed Cooperation: Political Systems, Elections, and the Outcomes of Trade Negotiations. Review of International Political Economy.


    Pashayan, A., Kehlenbach, E., Ye, H., Mueller, G., & Willis, C. (2023). The Realities Facing Graduate Students: Before, During, and After the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic. PS: Political Science & Politics, 56(3), 391-397.


    Sasmi, D. T., & Shi, M. (2023). Southeast Asian Leaders鈥 Political Orientation Towards the Environmental Policy Outcome. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics.


    Munir, H., Catalano, M., & Martinek, W. (Forthcoming). Judicial Decision Making on Lower Federal Courts. In M. Fix & M. Montgomery (Eds.), Research Handbook of Judicial Politics. Edward Elgar Publishing.


    Catalano, M., & Chan, A. (2023). Common Law Systems and COVID-19 Policy response: Protective Public Health Policy in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. In 


    O. Shvetsova (Ed.), Government Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic: Between a Rock and a Hard Place. Palgrave MacMillan.


    Catalano, M. A. (2022). Ex Ante and Ex Post Control Over Courts in the US States: Court Curbing and Political Party Influence. Justice System Journal, 43(4), 503-523.


    Catalano, M. (2023). Can the US Constitution Handle Political Parties? In D. Klein &

    J. Smith (Eds.), The US Constitution in Five Minutes. Equinox Publishing Home.


    Shvetsova, O., Zhirnov, A., Adeel, A. B., Bayar, M. C., Bayrali, O. G., Catalano, M., Catalano, O., Chu, H., Giannelli, F., Muftuoglu, E., Rosenberg, D., Seyis, D., Skopyk, B., VanDusky-Allen, J., & Zhao, T. (2022). Protective Policy Index, a Global Dataset of Origins and Stringency of COVID-19 Mitigation Policies. Scientific Data, 9(319).


    Shvetsova, O., Zhirnov, A., Giannelli, F., Catalano, M., & Catalano, O. (2022). Can Correlation Between Governor's Party and COVID-19 Morbidity Be Explained by the Differences in COVID-19 Mitigation Policies in the States? American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 62(6), E381-E383.


    VanDusky-Allen, J. A., Utych, S. M., & Catalano, M. (2022). Partisanship, Policy, and Americans鈥 Evaluations of State-Level COVID-19 Policies Prior to the 2020 Election. Political Research Quarterly.. 2022 Jun;75(2):479-496.


    Shvetsova, O., Zhirnov, A., Giannelli, F., Catalano, M., & Catalano, O. (2022). Governor's Party, Policies, and COVID-19 Outcomes: Further Evidence of an Effect. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 62(3), 433-437.


    Seyis, D., & Heller, W. B. (2021). Voter Support for Anti-Immigrant Populist Parties: The Effect of Economic Pessimism and "Out-Group" Immigration. Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy, 2(3), 429-451.


    Best, R., & Seyis, D. (2021). How Do Voters Perceive Ideological Congruence? The Effects of Winning and Losing under Different Electoral Rules. Electoral Studies, 69.


    Naushirvanov, T., Rosenberg, D., Sawyer, P.S., & Seyis, D. (2022). How populists fuel polarization and fail their response to COVID-19: An empirical

    analysis. Frontiers in Political Science.


    Asadzade, P., & Izadi, R. (April-June 2022.). The Reputational Cost of Military Aggression: Evidence from the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine. Research and Politics. 1-7


    Izadi, R. (2022). State Security or Exploitation. A Theory of Military Involvement in the Economy. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 66(4-6), 729-754.


    Bennett, A., & Seyis, D. (2021). The Online Market's Invisible Hand: Internet Media and Rising Populism. Political Studies. 71(3), 655-675.


    Mark, B. S., Ye, H.-J., Foote, A., & Crippin, T. (2021). It鈥檚 a Hard-Knock Life: Child Labor Practices and Compliance with IMF Agreements. Social Sciences, 10(5), 171.


    Shvetsova, O., VanDusky-Allen, J., Zhirnov, A., Adeel, A. B., Catalano, M., Catalano, O., Gianelli, F., 

    Muftuoglu, E., Rosenberg, D., Sezgin, M. H., & Zhao, T. (2021). Federal Institutions and Strategic Policy Responses to COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers Political Science - Elections and Representation.


    Shvetsova, O., Zhirnov, A., VanDusky-Allen, J., Adeel, A. B., Catalano, M., Catalano, O., Giannelli, F., Muftuoglu, E., Riggs, T., Sezgin, M. H., Tahir, N., & Zhao, T. (2020). Institutional Origins of Protective COVID-19 Public Health Policy Responses: Informational and Authority Redundancies and Policy Stringency. Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy, 1(4), 585-613.


    Adeel, A. B., Catalano, M., Catalano, O., Gibson, G., Muftuoglu, E., Riggs, T., Sezgin, M. H., Shvetsova, O., Tahir, N., VanDusky-Allen, J., Zhao, T., & Zhirnov, A. (2020). COVID-19 Policy Response and the Rise of the Sub-National Governments. Canadian Public Policy / Analyse de Politiques, 46(4), 565-584. 


    Walz, M., & Foote, A. (2020). Keeping the Left at Bay: Delegate Selection System Choice in US Democratic Nominations. Electoral Studies, 67.


    Seyis, D., & Munir, H. Judiciary Under Attack: Populists in Government and the Independence of the Judiciary. In K. Hawkins, E. Hawkins, N. Wiesehomeier, L. Littvay, & A. Chryssogelos (Eds.), The Ideational Approach to Populism: Consequences and Mitigation. Cambridge University Press. 


    Benjamin, G., & Catalano, M. A. (2020). New York State鈥檚 Multi Party System. In R. Davis (Ed.), The "Other" Parties: Minor Political Parties in Contemporary American Politics. University Press of Kansas.


    Mark, B. S. Program Lending by the IMF in Human Rights Research: Lessons for Policymakers. In D. Cingranelli & M. Filippov (Eds.), Under contract at UPenn Press.


    Akcinaroglu, S., & Tokdemir, E. (2018). To Instill Fear or Love: Terror Groups and Strategy of Building Reputation. Conflict Management and Peace Science, 35(4).


    Moral, M., & Zhirnov, A. (2018). Issue Voting as a Constrained Choice Problem.

    American Journal of Political Science, 62(2), 280-295.


    Ozen, H. E. (2018). Egypt鈥檚 2011-2012 Parliamentary Elections: Voting for Religious vs. Secular Democracy? Mediterranean Politics, 23(4), 453-178.


    Tokdemir, E., & Mark, B. S. (2018). When Killers Become Victims: Political Use of Force, Human Rights, and Strategic Target Selection. International Interactions, 44(2).


    Moral, M. (2017). The Bipolar Voter: On the Effects of Actual and Perceived Party Polarization on Voter Turnout in European Multiparty Democracies. Political Behavior, 39(4), 935鈥965.


    Moral, M., & Tokdemir, E. (2017). Justices 'en Garde': Ideological Determinants of the Dissolution of Anti-Establishment Parties. International Political Science Review, 38(3), 264-80.


    Tokdemir, E. (2017). Winning Hearts and Minds (!): The Dilemma of Foreign Aid in Anti-Americanism. Journal of Peace Research, 54(6). Forthcoming.


    Wang, Z., & Youn, H. (2017). Repress or Respect? Precarious Leadership, Poor Economy and Labor Protection. Human Rights Review, 18(1), 21-43.


    Klein, G. R., & Tokdemir, E. (2016). Domestic Diversion: Selective Targeting of Minority Out-Groups. Conflict Management and Peace Science, 36(1).


    Moral, M. (2016). The Passive-Aggressive Voter: The Calculus of Casting an Invalid Vote in European Democracies. Political Research Quarterly, 69(4), 732-45.


    Tokdemir, E., & Akcinaroglu, S. (2016). Reputation of Terror Groups Dataset: Measuring Popularity of Terror Groups. Journal of Peace Research, 53(2), 268-277.

    Zhirnov, A. (2016). Electoral Coordination in India: The Role of Costly Campaign Communication. India Review, 15(4), 359-378.


    Zhirnov, A. (2016). Campaigns, Information, and Coordinated Voting in Multi-Party Elections under Plurality Rule. Electoral Studies, 41, 190-201.


    Wang, Z., & Youn, H. (2016). Locating the External Source of Enforceability: Alliances, Bilateral Investment Treaties, and Foreign Direct Investment. Social Science Quarterly, 99(1), 80-96.


    Best, R. E., & Zhirnov, A. (2015). Perils and Pitfalls of Ignoring Disproportionality鈥檚 Behavioral Component. Electoral Studies, 40, 256-267.


    Garmendia Madariaga, A., & Ozen, H. E. (2015). Looking for Two-sided Coattail Effects: Integrated Parties and Multilevel Elections in the U.S. Electoral Studies, 40, 66-75.


    Moral, M., 脰zen, H. E., & Tokdemir, E. (2015). Bringing the Incumbency Advantage into Question for Proportional Representation. Electoral Studies, 40, 56-65.


    Carkoglu, A., Vitiello, T., & Moral, M. (2012). Voter Advice Applications in Practice: Answers to Some Key Questions from Turkey. International Journal of Electronic Governance, 5(3/4), 298-317.


    Zhirnov, A. (2010). Issues of Territorial Stability in India. In I. M. Busygina, L. V. Smirnagin, & M. G. Filippov (Eds.), 鈥淕iant鈥-States: Problems of Territorial Stability. MGIMO-University.

Hire a 91社区 PhD

  • Hire a PhD

    Furkan Emer

    femer1@binghamton.edu

    • Dissertation Title: Bargaining without Guns: Military Participation in Democratic Politics
    • Chair: Seden Akcinaroglu
    • Dissertation Synopsis: Develops a theory of military leaders going public to explain how top uniformed military officers can influence political decision-making in democracies without resorting to coups or other forms of coercion. It argues that by communicating publicly, military leaders can strengthen their position in bargaining with civilian leaders by shaping public opinion and increasing the political costs of disregarding military preferences. The dissertation examines when military leaders are most likely to go public, how ties between the military and society affect their ability to influence citizens, and whether going public ultimately translates into policy influence. To investigate these questions, he collects military leaders' public statements from 1990 to 2020 using text analysis, conducts survey experiments to examine how these statements resonate with the public, and uses cross-national quantitative analyses to assess their effects on policy outcomes related to military spending and conflict dynamics.

    tclarke3@binghamton.edu

    • Dissertation Title: The Politician's Dilemma
    • Chair: Daniel Magleby
    • Dissertation Synopsis: "In American Politics there is no federal politician closer to the people than the members of the U.S. House. There is also no other federal politician who faces as tight of a time constraint as House members; upon taking office members have between 669 and 675 days before they face another election. This makes the question of how House members spend their time in office an intensely interesting one. My dissertation uses an original data set collected from pdf and csv records of House member expenditures from 2009 to the present to examine the role of electoral threat in shaping member resource allocations. I model member decision making using a constraint optimization framework where politician's must make strategic allocations between investing in reelection and investing in actual governance. I then derive empirical implications from this model and test them using my data on expenditures as well as data on the lawmaking activity of members to ascertain how member's balance the competing priorities of exercising power and maintaining it. My initial findings support the claim that electorally vulnerable members invest more of their resources in electorally useful activities than their safe counterparts and in future work I plan to show how these same sorts of threats change the way that members legislate as well. I also believe my model (the Politician's Dilemma) is generalizable beyond the U.S. House and plan to explore how politicians subject to less intense time constraints balance the same competing concerns of reelection and governance

    ajimale1@binghamton.edu

    • Disseration Title: Institutional Design in Armed Groups: Rebel Councils and Leadership Institutions
    • Chair: Seden Akcinaroglu
    • Dissertation Synopsis: Why do some rebel groups establish executive councils while others concentrate authority in a single leader, and how do these internal designs shape their wartime and post-conflict behavior? I argue that rebel leaders delegate authority through councils and committees as a strategic response to uncertainty. Collective institutions help them manage internal rivals, signal credibility to governments and constituents, and prepare the organization for political transformation. Because decisions made by a collective body are harder to reverse unilaterally, council governance makes a group's commitments more credible at the bargaining table. I introduce the Rebel Council Dataset (RCD), which codes the collective-leadership institutions of 368 armed organizations worldwide from 1973 to 2023, including council structure, decision-making authority, council elections, and council diversity. Using these data, I test when and why councils emerge, whether council-governed groups are more likely to enter and sustain negotiations with governments, and how council composition shapes the concessions groups pursue and secure.
Distinguished Dissertation Award

2023 

Huei-Jyun Ye "Deals to be Determined: Domestic Political Uncertainties and Trade Negotitaions."