Dr. Esra Elmas
In addition to her role as Head of Turkey Programme at DPI, Esra is co-founder of İstanbul Bilgi University Centre for Conflict Resolution Studies and Research. She received her PhD in Sociology from École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) and Political Science (Department of Conflict and Development Studies) from Ghent University. Her publications cover areas such as Turkish modernisation, internal migration, civil-military relations, sacralization of politics and the history of Turkish media. Esra’s 2007 book, ‘My Dear Atatürk’, examines the way in which primary school students in Turkey perceive Atatürk, Turkey’s founder.