Deniz Ülke Kaynak graduated from Ankara University, Faculty of Political Science, Department of International Relations. She completed her master’s and doctoral degrees at Istanbul University and, in 1995, graduated from the School of Terrorism and International Security at St. Andrews University, Scotland.
Throughout her academic career, she has lectured at Istanbul University, Istanbul Bilgi University, Bahçeşehir University, the Air Force Academy, and the War Academies. Between 2007 and 2010, she served as Rector of Bahçeşehir University, followed by a position as a Board Member of Istanbul Bilgi University’s Board of Trustees. From 2016 to 2017, she was a Visiting Scholar at Oxford University, St. Antony’s College, and from 2013 to 2022, she served as an Independent Board Member at Denizbank.
Since joining Üsküdar University in 2017, she has served as Advisor to the Rector and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Resolution of Intractable Conflict (CRIC) at Oxford University, where she continues her academic research. Additionally, she is the Director of the Political Psychology Centre at Üsküdar University, which she founded.
Her recent research focuses on security issues from a political psychology perspective and the peaceful resolution of terrorism-related conflicts. She is a board member of the International Dialogue Initiative (IDI), an interdisciplinary and international working group dedicated to these issues. Deniz Ülke Kaynak is also one of the few Turkish academics inducted into the World Academy of Art and Science.
As a strong advocate for women’s empowerment, she is among the founding members of the Turkish Businesswomen Association (TİKAD) and the Women in Technology Association. She also serves as an advisory board member of the Women on Boards Association, supporting projects that promote gender equality in Turkey and worldwide.
She has published numerous national and international articles and has authored 13 books. Some of the works she has edited include “Under the Shadow of China: Southeast Asia,” “In the Shadow of Traumas,” “The Psychopolitics of the Pandemic,” and “Unending Mourning: COVID.” She is also a co-author of the International Relations Dictionary, a fundamental resource in the field of international relations.
Her notable books include “Actors of the Globalization Scenario,” “From Tribe to Globalization: The Thought of International Relations,” “From the End of History to the End of Peace: Terror,” “Seeing the Bigger Picture,” “The Wall,” and “From Trauma to Victory.”
Additionally, she has authored two books in English: “Wall” and “Constructing Motherhood Against Political Violence.”
