Marmara University Research Center for International Relations (MURCIR), was established in 1994 by the academic members of the Department of Political Science and International Relations with the initiative of its first Director Prof. Dr. Kemali Saybaşılı in order to provide an academic and intellectual forum on current and thematic issues in international relations.

 

                                  

                                   

The main objectives of the Center are to collaborate with national and international academic institutions and networks in research areas; to organize conferences, symposiums and workshops; to carry out and support publication activities; to conduct projects for public and private sector organizations in Turkey; and to create discussion platforms on current topics in international relations in order to provide research opportunities for young and experienced academics. MURCIR, since its foundation, has undertaken various academic studies to address current international issues, which have been rapidly changing due to globalization. In this context, the Balkan studies, Middle Eastern studies, Turkey-EU relations, international migration studies, global environmental policy and climate change, and Asia-Pacific studies carried out by the Center are prominent examples of its academic scope.

After Prof. Dr. Kemali Saybaşılı, as one of the founding academicians and first Director of MURCIR, Center’s directorate was appointed Prof. Dr. Şule Kut, Assoc. Dr. Esra Çayhan, Prof. Dr. Günay Göksü Özdoğan, and Prof. Dr. Sema Erder respectively. Following Prof. Günay Göksü Özdoğan’s second directorate in between 2007-2013, Assoc. Prof. Semra Cerit was appointed in 2013. From November 2017 onwards, Assoc. Prof. Çağdaş Üngör Sunar is carrying out the Center’s Directorate.