Hülya Kınık is Assistant Professor of International Relations at Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey. She holds PhD on International Relations from Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey. Her dissertation explores the effects of Rising Powers on the international system, mainly focusing on Turkey. Her primary research interests are Turkish Foreign Policy, Rising Powers and Geopolitical Studies.

Fevzi Kırbaşoğlu works as Research Assistant of the International Relations Department at Karadeniz Technical University (KTU), Türkiye. He received MA degree in 2019 from the International Relations Department of KTU, with a thesis entitled “The EU’s Response to Rising Powers: The Case of Turkey”. In the same year, he started his doctoral studies in the field of International Security and Terrorism under the Council of Higher Education's (CoHE) prestigious 100/2000 PhD Scholarship Program. His current research interests include EU Law and Institutions, European Political Integration, and the geopolitical dynamics of the Black Sea region.

Murat ÇEMREK received his bachelor's degree in Political Science and Public Administration from METU, his master's and doctorate degrees in Political Science and Public Administration from Bilkent University, and his post-doctoral studies at Budapest College: Institute of Higher Specialized Studies (Hungary). He taught at Bilkent, Ataturk Alatoo (Kyrgyzstan), Selçuk, El Farabi (Kazakhstan) Universities and Police Academy at various levels from undergraduate to doctoral. He was the Founding Director of the Eurasian Research Institute of Ahmet Yesevi International University (Kazakhstan). Çemrek, who was the Head of Department at Selçuk University, is currently the Head of Department, Director of Erol Güngör Turkish Diaspora Research and Application Center and Coordinator of University Erasmus Program at Necmettin Erbakan University. Çemrek, who has written articles, reviews and book chapters in many national and international journals in Turkish and English, is on the board of editors, referees and scientific advisors of many academic journals.