About

I hold an MA in Asian Studies from Boğaziçi University. I base my work on the elite theories of Michels, Pareto, and Mosca, and Weberian theories, and focus primarily on Japan and South Korea. With regards to Japan, I am interested in elite, religious, and party politics, while for South Korea I am interested in Korean “comfort women”, national identities and the Korean Wave. I am also interested in urban sociology, focusing on how the socio-political finds its reflections on the city.

My master’s thesis titled “Understanding Jimintō (Liberal Democratic Party) Factionalism as a Structure of Elite Circulation in Japanese Politics” focuses on LDP factions as structures through which circulation of elites occurs in the political circles of Japan, with an eye towards both a better understanding of LDP’s factions within the context of Japan’s ruling class and to add to the existing literature on elite theory as well.

As an undergraduate student I was in the Dual Diploma Program, majoring in Global and International Affairs at Middle East Technical University and SUNY Binghamton University. I hold a BSc. in Global and International Affairs from both colleges, as well as a double major BA in Sociology from Binghamton University. Over the course of my studies, I have become accustomed to multidisciplinary studies and qualitative research.