Ina Merdjanova
Research interests: Sociology, Peace Studies, Women’s Studies, Religious Studies, Politics and Anthropology
Kurdish-Turkish Feminist Advocacy for Peace in Turkey
Ina Merdjanova’s research project at Iméra, the Institute for Advanced Study of Aix-Marseille University, seeks to explore the significant role played by Kurdish and Turkish feminist advocates for peace during the 2013-2015 peace process in Turkey.
A New Feminist Paradigm for Resolving the Kurdish-Turkish Conflict
The project discusses the historical context of persistent discrimination against Kurds and the resulting conflict between the Turkish state and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Looking at the most recent attempt to bring an end to the violent conflict, the project examines the differences between feminist and male-centered visions of peace. By focusing in particular on the achievements of women in the struggles for peace, the project contributes to the fields of women’s studies, human rights, citizenship, and peacebuilding, and highlights the importance of a comprehensive and inclusive approach to peace in deeply divided societies.
Feminism and Peace in Turkey: An Interdisciplinary and Intersectional Approach
The innovative methodology of this research project is grounded in a feminist theoretical framework and enriched by ideas of prominent scholars such as Nancy Fraser, Nira Yuval-Davis, and Cynthia Cockburn. The research employs an interdisciplinary perspective combining sociology, women’s studies, anthropology, and peace studies. The multidimensional approach allows a better grasp on the complexity of Turkey’s conflict and the continuing feminist struggles for peace.
Ina Merdjanova is a senior researcher at the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin, and a former visiting professor at Coventry University’s the Centre for Trust, Peace, and Social Relation (2018-2021). She works across the disciplines of sociology, peace studies, women’s studies, religious studies, politics and anthropology. She has extensive academic experience at various academic and research institutions: Oxford University, New York University, the Center for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at Edinburgh University, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington DC, the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences, the Aleksanteri Institute at Helsinki University, and the Freiburg Center for Advanced Studies, among others. Her book publications include Religion, Nationalism and Civil Society in Eastern Europe —The Postcommunist Palimpsest (Edwin Mellon Press, 2002), Religion as a Conversation Starter: Interreligious Dialogue for Peacebuilding in the Balkans (with Patrice Brodeur, Continuum, 2009), Rediscovering the Umma: Muslims in the Balkans between Nationalism and Transnationalism (Oxford University Press, 2013), and an edited volume Women and Religiosity in Orthodox Christianity (Fordham University Press, 2021).