Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hatice Çelik is the Head of the Department of Asian Studies and the Vice-Director of the Institute for Area Studies at the Social Sciences University of Ankara (SSUA), Türkiye. She graduated from the Department of International Relations at Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara. She got her master’s degree in Asian Studies at METU. She was a visiting researcher at the Academy of Korean Studies, South Korea for a six-month period in 2013 based on a scholarship. She earned her Ph.D. in the Area Studies Ph.D. program with her thesis on South Korea-ASEAN relations at METU. She has published numerous articles and book chapters on the foreign policy and bilateral relations of Asian countries, security, women, environment and many other themes. Her research interests include the Asian international system, comparative and critical area studies, middle powers, politics of the Korean peninsula, ASEAN region.

Mürsel Bayram received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Selçuk
University, Ahi Evran University and Kırıkkale University respectively. He is currently the Head of the Department of African Studies at the Institute for Area Studies, Social Sciences University of Ankara. He is the author of Une histoire diplomatique des États ouest-africains and Çin-Afrika İş Birliği (China-Africa Cooperation). Bayram is also the editor of the books titled Mağrib Diplomasisi (Maghreb Diplomacy) Afrika Yıllığı 2021 (Africa Yearbook 2021), Afrika Yıllığı 2022 (Africa Yearbook 2022), Afrika’da Politika ve Uluslararası İlişkiler (African Politics and International Relations) and Doğu Afrika’da Siyaset ve Diplomasi (Politics and Diplomacy in East Africa).

Elem EYRİCE TEPECİKLİOĞLU is the head of the Area Studies Department at Social Sciences University of Ankara, TÜRKİYE. She is also an associate professor at the Department of African Studies. She received her PhD in 2013 and conducted her post-doctoral studies at the Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town, South Africa between 2014-2015. She has published widely on topics relating to African politics, Turkey-Africa relations and emerging powers in Africa. She is the co-editor of Turkey in Africa: A New Emerging Power? (Routledge, 2021), Turkey’s Pivot to the African Continent: Strategic Crossroads (Routledge, 2024) and Turkey in Africa (Special Issue: Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 2024).

Dr. Zeynep Tuba Sungur is a researcher on Afghanistan and South Asia (covering Pakistan, India as well as Iran), with advanced Persian language skills, specialising on the sociology and political history of the region. Her academic credentials include degrees from Boğaziçi University (BA) and Middle East Technical University, METU (MS and PhD). Dr. Sungur holds a PhD in Area Studies from METU (2020) where she previously worked as a Research Assistant at the Graduate School of Social Sciences (2014-2019) and as a Part-time Lecturer at the Department of Asian Studies (2021-22). Following PhD, Dr. Sungur was awarded the prestigious TÜBİTAK (Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye) Post-Doctoral Fellowship to conduct research at SOAS University of London for a year (2022-23). Thereafter, Dr. Sungur joined ASBÜ Institute for Area Studies, Department of Asian Studies in September 2023.

Dr. Yavuz Çelik received his bachelor's degree from the Department of History at Istanbul University. He completed both his master's and PhD studies in China with a scholarship from the Ministry of National Education of the Republic of Turkey. He earned his master's degree at Nankai University in the Department of International Relations and Public Policy and his PhD at Shanghai University in the Department of Global Studies. His research focuses on China's policy in Central Asia, its socio-economic relations in the region, its increasing influence, and its competition with other regional actors. He has published several academic articles on China-Central Asia relations. As of December 2024, he has started working at the Institute for Area Studies at the Social Sciences University, teaching Comparative Politics in Turkic States.

Dr. Yusuf Avcı holds a bachelor's degree in International Relations and a master's degree in Political Science from Ankara University. He earned his PhD from the School of East Asian Studies at Sheffield University in 2021. During his doctoral studies, he was a visiting researcher at Waseda University and has also taught as a lecturer at Warwick University. In the summer of 2024, Dr. Avcı is engaged in postdoctoral research at the Center for International Studies at Sciences Po as a visiting researcher. He has received scholarships and research grants from various institutions, including the Turkish Ministry of National Education, Sheffield University, the Japan Foundation, and Campus France. Since 2021, Dr. Avcı has been part of the Department of Asian Studies at the Institute of Area Studies. His research focuses on migration movements within the context of Turkey and Japan, Asian studies, qualitative research, and ethnography.