Gönül Tol is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute (MEI), where she focuses on Turkish politics, US-Turkey relations, political Islam, and regional dynamics in the Middle East. Her research also explores ethnic and religious identity formation, immigration, and the role of identity in foreign policymaking.
A frequent commentator, Dr. Tol has written extensively on Turkish domestic and foreign policy for publications such as Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and The Financial Times. Her articles include “Turkey Is Now a Full-Blown Autocracy” in Foreign Affairs (March 2025) and “Erdogan Sees Nothing But Opportunity in Syria” in The Financial Times (December 2024).
She is the author of Erdogan’s War: A Strongman’s Struggle at Home and in Syria (Oxford University Press, 2023).
She holds a PhD and MA from Florida International University, and a BA from Middle East Technical University.
She is a native Turkish speaker.
Contact Information
Email: gtol@mei.edu
Phone: (202) 785-1141
Twitter Handle: @gonultol
