Dr. Ömer Kurtbağ is as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Gaziosmanpasa University in Tokat, Turkey. Dr. Kurtbağ completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Uludağ. He earned an MA degree and a PhD in International Relations from Ankara University. Selected by the EU Commission, he served as a Jean Monnet Scholar at Middlesex University, London (2005-2006). In 2010, Dr. Kurtbağ held a short-term visiting postdoctoral position at East Carolina University in the United States. His research interests are International Relations Theory, EU-Turkey relations, Turkish foreign policy and US foreign policy. His articles and papers include: “Turkey’s Recent Foreign Policy Activism in Its Neighbourhood versus Its EU Membership Goal: How Compliant Are Turkey’s Regional Ambitions with EU Foreign Policy,” in Belgin Akçay and Bahri Yılmaz (eds.), Turkey’s Accession to the European Union: Political and Economic Challenges (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2012): 229-252; “Resetting Turkish Foreign Policy in the Wake of the Arab Spring and Its Impact on the Turkish Activism in the Middle East,” The Seventh Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Conference, Universitat Abat Oliba, Barcelona, Spain, 25-28 June 2012; “US Foreign Policy in the Age of Global Uncertainty: The Obama Era between the Tea Party-led Opposition and the Global Power Shift in the World Politics,” International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity Studies, Vol. 3, No. 2, (July 2011): 387-398; and “Empowering Critical International Theory By Applying Action Research Methodology to Its Inquiry,” METU Studies in Development, Vol. 38 (April 2011): 1-20.
Malaysia and Turkey lie nearly 5,000 miles and seven time zones apart. They have different historical experiences and state structures. The role that religion plays in their public life also differs markedly. Yet Malaysia and Turkey have more in common than is widely acknowledged. Both are newly industrialized, middle-income, predominantly Muslim countries and mid-sized powers in their respective regions. Both are also expected to assume a greater regional and global role in the coming years.
