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Isa Afacan, Assistant Professor at Turgut Ozal University in Turkey, Visits Tech

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Isa Afacan, Assistant Professor of International Relations at Turgut Ozal University in Ankara, Turkey, visited Georgia Tech on October 15, 2014 to discuss the phenomenon of state collapse in the Middle East after the Arab Spring. The event was hosted by the Nunn School’s Center for International Strategy, Technology, and Policy (CISTP), with opening remarks provided by Nunn School Assistant Professor Lawrence Rubin.

In his remarks, Professor Afacan provided context for the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS). He correlated the group’s dramatic ascendance to state failure in Iraq and Syria, describing this state failure as having two central effects. First, it “killed citizenship,” compelling people to organize along sectarian, confessional, and other identity group lines. Second, it broke the cycle of socialization, leaving individuals and families believing that they have no stake in the larger community.  According to Afacan, ISIS’s remarkable gains in the region can be explained by its ability to fill the void left by state collapse. 

Afacan also characterized ISIS as an efficient group that has succeeded through the establishment of transnational networks, the mobilization of large groups of people though effective recruiting, and the implementation of a pragmatic general strategy that has allowed it to shift sides as the situation demands.  He closed the talk with a Q&A session where he answered questions related to U.S. policy on ISIS, Turkey’s position in the ongoing crisis, the role of NATO, and related topics.

Dr. Afacan is an assistant professor of International Relations at Turgut Ozal University in Ankara, Turkey. Prior to that Dr. Afacan taught at Zirve University in the city of Gaziantep, Turkey. Located on Turkey’s southern border, Gaziantep saw its population tripled by Syrian refugees fleeing the ongoing civil war. He earned his PhD from Florida International University in Miami, FL.

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  • Workflow Status:Published
  • Created By:Jenilee Trew
  • Created:10/29/2014
  • Modified By:Fletcher Moore
  • Modified:10/07/2016