Sakarya University Middle East Institute ( tr, Sakarya Üniversitesi Ortadoğu Enstitüsü, also known as ORMER) is located on the campus of

Sakarya University Sakarya University ( tr, Sakarya Üniversitesi), frequently referred to simply as SAU, is a public research university located in the city of Serdivan, the capital of the Turkish province of Sakarya. Considered one of the largest universi ...

in Sakarya, Turkey.

History

The idea of Sakarya University Middle East Institute goes back to the year 2005 when the first issue of Middle East Annual (Ortadoğu Yıllığı) was published by a group of academics including the founding director of the institute,

Kemal Inat Kemal Inat is a professor of Turkish Foreign Policy and Middle East Politics in the Department of International Relations at Sakarya University. Inat is founding director of Sakarya University Middle East Institute and head of Department of Intern ...

. In the aftermath of the

Arab Spring The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in T ...

, this idea turned a concrete step with the opening of a master program on the Middle East under the Social Science Institute of

in May 2012. At the same year, an online master program on the Middle East was also inaugurated. Those who opened Master-level programs organized the first Middle East Congress on Politics and Society between 9 and 11 October 2012. After the opening of another Middle East program at PhD level, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Sakarya University was established on 11 December 2013. The main focus of the center was the effect of the

on politics, society and economy of the Middle East. Accordingly, the second Middle East Congress on Politics and Society was organized in order to deal with effects of the Arab Spring on the Middle East. According to founding director of the institute, Turkey's need for academically-educated experts on the Middle East became a problem especially after two important political developments in the opening years of the 21st Century, rising interest of Turkey towards the Middle East region, and political turmoil following the

. Motivated by these political developments, the center reorganized itself as an institute. Therefore, Sakarya University Middle East Institute was officially established on May 25, 2015, and all graduate programs and staff were transferred to this institute. However, the institute continues to use ORMER as its abbreviation. ORMER is a shortened form of Ortadoğu Merkezi (Middle East Center).

Activities

As part of its mission, Sakarya University Middle East Institute offers a variety of opportunities including conferences, lecture series, workshops, and outreach activities. The institute also publishes booklets, detailed reports, policy briefs, and short commentaries on current affairs of the Middle East. The main activity of the institute is to organize Middle East Congress on Politics and Society biennially. Prior to the establishment of the institute, this congress was organized firstly by

Department of International Relations, Sakarya University The Department of International Relations at Sakarya University, located at the Esentepe campus, Serdivan, Sakarya, provides undergraduate and graduate education about international politics. As a department within Faculty of Political Sciences, ...

in 2012. The second Middle East Congress on Politics and Society was organized by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at

in 2014.

Periodicals

In addition to policy briefs, and short commentaries published in its web page on occasion, Sakarya University Middle East Institute is the editorial home to a peer-review academic journal and a peer-review academic annual, both of which focus particularly on the Middle East.

The Middle East Annual ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

, ( tr, Ortadoğu Yıllığı), published since 2005, covers political, economic and societal developments in each country of the Middle East.

Turkish Journal of Middle Eastern Studies Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

( tr, Türkiye Ortadoğu Çalışmaları Dergisi), published since 2014, is a peer-review academic journal.

Current staff

* Director:

Tuncay Kardas Tuncay (; ''toonj-eye'') is a Turkish given name for males and a surname. People named Tuncay include: Given name * Tuncay Güney (born 1972), Turkish spy * Tuncay Karakaya (born 1989), Turkish Paralympian goalball player * Tuncay Mataracı (born ...

* Deputy Director:

Yıldırım Turan Yıldırım is a Turkish word meaning "lightning" and may refer to: People Given name *Ali Yıldırım Koç (born 1967), Turkish businessman and member of the Koç family *Yıldırım Akbulut (1935–2021), Turkish politician *Yıldırım Aktun ...

and

Ali Balcı ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

* Graduate Program Coordinator:

Recep Tayyip Gurler Recep may refer to: People Surname * Aziz Recep (born 1992), German-Greek footballer * Sibel Recep (born 1987), Swedish pop singer Given name * Recep Adanır (born 1929), Turkish footballer * Recep Akdağ (born 1960), Turkish physician and poli ...

Previous Directors

(2015 - September 2018)

References

{{authority control Sakarya University Middle Eastern studies Organizations established in 2015 Political research institutes 2015 establishments in Turkey Organizations based in Sakarya Province Adapazarı