Murat Somer

Murat Somer is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Özyeğin University, Istanbul. His publications on polarization/depolarization, democratic erosion/recovery and oppositions, secular/religious politics, and ethnic conflicts include Polarizing Polities: A Global Threat to Democracy (2019, co-edited with Jennifer McCoy), Return to Point Zero: The Turkish-Kurdish Question and How Politics and Ideas (Re)Make Empires, Nations, and States (2022) and Democratic Backsliding: How It Happens and How It Can Be Countered (2025, co-edited with Rachel Beatty Riedl, Jennifer McCoy and Kenneth Roberts). His current book project, with Jennifer McCoy, is Depolarizing Politics and Rebuilding Democracy. He held many visiting positions including Democracy and Development Fellow at Princeton University and GFDD Senior at the Democracy Institute of Central European University, Budapest. He advised pro-democracy civil society and political parties, and he has been a frequent contributor to Turkish and international media.