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Foreign Policy Making in Turbulent Times
BY: Léa Faure On Thursday, April 21, 2022, the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs (SPSIA) organized its landmark event of Spring 2022 – the American Foreign Policy and Intelligence Conference. The conference attracted a lively audience which featured 10 scholars and experts who provided unique perspectives about American foreign policy and […]
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A New Beginning: Model United Nations in Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government
By Léa Faure In close partnership with the Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) at the University of Central Florida (UCF), Soran University in Iraqi Kurdistan hosted the first Model United Nations Conference in Iraq from March 31 to April 2, 2022. Around 100 students from different parts of Iraqi Kurdistan and Iraq as well as […]
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Tezcür Tapped to Lead School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs
The School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs recently appointed Güneş Murat Tezcür, Ph.D., to become its second director. Tezcür studies political violence, politics of identity and democratization, with a focus on Iranian, Kurdish, and Turkish human geography. He has published more than two dozen scholarly articles in journals including American Political Science Review, Comparative […]
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New Study Into Latinx Behavior and Politics Launched With Acceptance of Build and Broaden Grant
The political behavior and policy preferences of the Latinx community will be the subject of a new study in the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs (SPSIA). The study is funded by the National Science Foundation’s Build and Broaden 2.0 Grant, created to encourage research by scholars at minority-serving institutions to apply for grants. […]
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Polarization and Fragmentation in Kurdish Politics and Beyond
By Doreen Horschig This past Thursday, November 21, 2019, the Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) hosted two distinguished scholars at the University of Central Florida for the event “Perspectives on Middle Eastern Politics: Polarization and Fragmentation.” The moderator of the event, Güneş Murat Tezcür, Jalal Talabani Chair and Professor at the School of Security, Politics, […]
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Congratulations, Summer 2018 Ph.D. Grads!
The College of Sciences celebrated its new Ph.D. graduates in a reception hosted by Dean Michael Johnson. Twenty students were recognized at the ceremony with their family members and faculty advisors by their side. Associate Dean Teresa Dorman honored each student individually by presenting their research and a brief description of their dissertation. Afterward, the group toasted […]
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From Italy to UCF, Student Finds Success
Helin Yıldız traveled from Italy after being accepted by the Kurdish Political Studies Program to continue her master’s education abroad. During her time in Orlando, Yıldız attended courses at UCF, interacted with professors and students about her research and intellectual interests, participated in KPSP events and made trips to Washington, D.C. to conduct interviews. Yıldız […]
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In Search of a Lost Song: From New York to Dersim
On April 23, 2018, The Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) hosted the screening of the movie ‘Zer’ and a conversation with the director, Kazım Öz, who is one of the leading Kurdish directors of his generation. He is also the director of highly acclaimed Bahoz (The Storm), Fotoğraf (The Photograph), the short film Ax (The […]
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50 Students Attend Panel on Chemical Attacks
Thirty years after the attacks in Halabja in Iraqi Kurdistan, chemical weapons continue to be used against civilian populations in the Middle East. On April 12, 2018, the Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) in collaboration with the Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence (IC CAE) sponsored a panel on the chemical attacks and U.S. policies. […]
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From Coast to Mountains
December 11, 2017 Clayton Besaw, a PhD candidate in the Security Studies Program, is starting a full-time position as a Political Event Forecaster in One Earth Future based in Denver in few days. Clayton is also a member of the Research Group of the Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP). Before he embarks on his car […]
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Kurdish Aspirations, Geopolitical Realities
On November 16, the Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) sponsored an event about contemporary Kurdish politics in the Middle East with an audience of more than 30 people. Güneş Murat Tezcür, Ph.D., opened up the event and invited Kerstin Hamann, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Political Science, to present the Dr. Najmaldin Karim Fellowship […]
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Security Studies Students Honored
Security Studies Ph.D. candidate Rebecca Schiel won the grand prize in the Jim Winkates Graduate Student Paper Competition, awarded by the International Studies Association’s Southern region. Schiel’s paper, titled “The Conditionality of Vulnerability,” seeks to explain why recent years have seen an increasing number of military coup attempts target democratic regimes rather than non-democratic regimes. […]
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14 Faculty Awarded for International Impact
UCF recognized 45 faculty members Wednesday during the university’s inaugural Luminary Award presentations for making an impact on the world. Fourteen of the recipients are College of Sciences faculty members. The event, themed like Oscar night, honored those who are academic leaders in their field and are making contributions to the world that are having […]
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From Victimhood to Empowerment
The already highly precarious existence of Yazidi Kurds, a religious minority with long history of persecution, in Iraq took an ominous turn with the rise of the self-styled Islamic State in the summer of 2014. The IS assault against the Yazidi communities in the Sinjar area located in northwestern Iraq in August 2014 led to […]
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A Unique Focus on Women and Conflict at UCF
The Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) and the Department of Political Science at the University of Central Florida hosted a conference titled “Gendered Dynamics of International Security” at UCF on Friday, February 3. The conference brought a distinguished group of scholars and a prominent journalist to UCF’s campus in Orlando. It offered unique perspectives into the […]
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Fighting Back Against ISIS: Forum Addresses Important Role of Kurds
By: Ada Tang, Lester N. Mandell Diplomacy Fellow On Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016, the UCF Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) hosted a Kurdish Political Issues Forum. Held in the Cape Florida Ballroom of the UCF Student Union, the forum featured distinguished visitors discussing Kurdish issues and how they relate to the United States. John C. […]
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The Distinguished Speaker Series is Back!
The UCF College of Sciences Distinguished Speaker Series is back with exciting new topics presented by renowned experts in their fields. This year’s 2016-17 series will be held monthly at Tuscawilla Country Club at 6:00pm, on the last Wednesday of each month, from September 2016 to April 2017 (excluding December). The Distinguished Speaker Series includes seven […]
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Ordinary People, Extraordinary Risks
Güneş Murat Tezcür, Ph.D., the Jalal Talabani Endowed Chair of Kurdish Political Studies in the UCF Department of Political Science, recently published an innovative article in the flagship journal of the American Political Science Association. Under what conditions does an individual willingly risk his or her life for a political cause? Dr. Tezcür explains that […]
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Security Studies Students Impress at CENTCOM
Several students and faculty from the UCF Security Studies Ph.D. program visited the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in Tampa to present their research on August 11, 2016. CENTCOM personnel expressed interest in the students’ research, providing positive feedback and discussing collaboration on future events. UCF security studies doctoral student Chelsea Faherty works full time at […]
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Kurdish Political Studies Program: Peace Activism in Tumultuous Times
Monday, May 23, 2016 10:30 a.m. to noon Howard Phillips Hall, Room 302 Turkey, a key country in the Middle East and a NATO member, has been witnessed a spiral of political violence since last summer. Dr. Halil Ibrahim Yenigün will talk about the country’s nascent peace movement in this context characterized by an intensified conflict […]
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UCF Talks Kurdish Issues in D.C.
Story by Jessica Squires Friday, April 1, 2016 What are the current and future prospects for Iraqi Kurdistan? That’s what audiences at two presentations in Washington, D.C., organized by UCF’s Global Perspectives Office, came to discuss last week. The forums were a product of the partnership between UCF and Soran University, which is located in […]
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The Kurdish Chair in Kurdistan
Güneş Murat Tezcür, the Jalal Talabani Endowed Chair of Kurdish Political Studies, traveled to Kurdistan Region of Iraq between February 6 and 13. During his trip, Dr. Tezcür met with the Presidents and administrators of the three largest public universities of Kurdistan, Salahaddin University-Erbil, the University of Duhok, and the University of Sulaimani, as well […]
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A Chair For The New Kurdish Chair
Güneş Murat Tezcür, Ph.D., the Jalal Talabany Kurdish Political Studies Endowed Chair at UCF, was inaugurated on October 29th, as part of the Kurdish Political Studies Program’s panel presentation on Kurdish Political Issues. Dr. Kerstin Hamann, Chair of the Political Science Department and Co-Chair of the Kurdish Political Studies Program at UCF, welcomed and thanked the audience for […]
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UCF Appoints First Kurdish Political Studies Endowed Chair in US
Kurdish Political Studies at the University of Central Florida has a new leader, Güneş Murat Tezcür, Ph.D., the inaugural holder of the Jalal Talabany Kurdish Political Studies Endowed Chair. The Chair is the first of its kind in the United States. It was initiated by a $1 million donation led by Dr. Najmaldin Karim, a neurosurgeon, […]
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COS Welcomes 50 New Faculty
The College of Sciences at the University of Central Florida welcomes 50 new faculty members this fall. In conjunction with the new faculty hiring campaign, approximatley 200 new faculty will begin at the university by fall 2015. These new faculty members will strengthen the areas of the university where there has been high student enrollment and growth. Many of […]