Ekim Arbatli
- Associate Professor: Faculty of Social Sciences / School of Politics and Governance
- Ekim Arbatli has been at HSE University since 2012.
Education and Degrees
University of Connecticut
Thesis Title: Oil and (Non)Democratic Politics: Explaining Resource Nationalism in Russia and Venezuela
University of Connecticut, Political Science
Galatasaray University, International Relations
Professional memberships
- American Political Science Association;
- Midwest Political Science Association.
Awards and Accomplishments
Best Teacher — 2018–2020
Courses (2024/2025)
- Comparative Politics (Bachelor’s programme; Faculty of Social Sciences field of study Political Science, field of study Applied Mathematics and Information Science, field of study Applied Mathematics and Information Science; 2 year, 1, 2 module)Eng
- Comparative Politics (Bachelor’s programme; Saint-Petersburg School of Social Sciences; 2 year, 1, 2 module)Eng
- Past Courses
Courses (2023/2024)
- Comparative Politics (Bachelor’s programme; Faculty of Social Sciences field of study Applied Mathematics and Information Science, field of study Applied Mathematics and Information Science, field of study Political Science; 2 year, 1, 2 module)Eng
Courses (2022/2023)
- Comparative Politics (Bachelor’s programme; Faculty of Social Sciences; 2 year, 1, 2 module)Eng
- Democracy and Democratization (Bachelor’s programme; Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs field of study Public Policy and Social Sciences, field of study International Relations; 4 year, 1, 2 module)Eng
Courses (2021/2022)
- Comparative Politics (Bachelor’s programme; Faculty of Social Sciences; 2 year, 1, 2 module)Eng
- Democracy and Democratization (Bachelor’s programme; Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs; 4 year, 1, 2 module)Eng
- Modern Political Science (Bachelor’s programme; Faculty of Social Sciences; 4 year, 1, 2 module)Eng
Courses (2020/2021)
- Comparative Politics (Bachelor’s programme; Faculty of Social Sciences; 2 year, 2, 3 module)Eng
- Democracy and Democratization (Bachelor’s programme; Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs; 4 year, 3, 4 module)Eng
- Introduction to Political Science (Bachelor’s programme; Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs field of study Public Policy and Social Sciences, field of study International Relations; 2 year, 1, 2, 4 module)Eng
Work in progress
- “Why nations divide: Determinants of political polarization in hybrid regimes” (journal special issue, under review)
- “Road hazards: Does political polarization increase coup likelihood?” (paper in progress)
- “The perfect storm: Aspiring autocrats and democratic breakdown in Turkey, Hungary and Venezuela” (book manuscript in progress)
- “Watching the vote in polarized contexts: Voluntary observers in Turkish elections” (paper in progress)
Conferences and talks
- “Divide and conquer: Presidents, parliaments, and political polarization during electoral campaigns” (with Kivanc Akoz and Dina Rosenberg), XXIII. Yasin International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development, April 5-8, 2022.
- “Divide and conquer: Presidents, parliaments, and political polarization during electoral campaigns” (with Kemal Kivanc Akoz and Dina Rosenberg), Political Polarization Symposium, Bedrosian Center on Governance, University of Southern California, November 23, 2021.
- Varieties of Populism in East and West Workshop, Freie Universität Berlin and Higher School of Economics, May 27, 2021.
- “United we stand, divided we rule: How polarization erodes democracy” (with Dina Rosenberg), APSA Annual Meeting, September 10-13, 2020.
- "How to raise a pious generation: Local government control and the rise of religious associations in Turkey " (with Cemal Eren Arbatli), NPSA Annual Meeting, Phildelphia/PA, November 7-9, 2019.
- "How to Raise a Pious Generation: Local Government Control and the Rise of Religious Associations in Turkey" (with Cemal Eren Arbatli), Annual Meeting of Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago / IL, April 4-7, 2019.
- “Against all odds: Elite strategies of survival, autocratic reversal and resilience in Turkey” (with Oksan Bayulgen and Sercan Canbolat), HSE Political Science Departmental Seminar Series, Moscow, November 23, 2017.
- “Turkish democracy in crisis: Incumbent takeover, autocratic resilience and the future of the regime”, HSE Open Lectures, Moscow, September 14, 2017.
- "Democratic Developments: A Regional Perspective", Institute of International Affairs at the University of Iceland, Reykjavik, June 30, 2017.
- "Endurance of competitive authoritarian regimes: Elite strategies and neo-authoritarian stabilization in Turkey" (with Oksan Bayulgen and Sercan Canbolat), SSSA Annual Meeting, Austin / TX, April 12-15, 2017. (presentation by co-authors)
- "Turkish experience of non-resource development" (with Cemal Eren Arbatli), Carnegie Moscow Center, Russian Economic Challenge Conference, Moscow, March 23, 2017.
- "Understanding military coups after the Cold War: Emerging trends and Turkey as a case study", HSE Open Talks Series, Moscow, March 14, 2017.
- "Occupation of public space as an experiment in participatory democracy: Gezi protests in Turkey", Nordic Exploratory Workshop on Epistemic Democracy, Turku, October 29, 2016.
- "Electing the voters: Strategies of clientelism in Russia and Turkey" (with Dina Rosenberg), Annual Meeting of Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago / IL, April 7-10, 2016.
- "Hybrid Breakdowns and Populist Autocrats: The Rise of Putinism and Erdoganism" (with Oksan Bayulgen and Sercan Canbolat), Annual Meeting of Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago / IL, April 16-19, 2015. (presentation by co-authors)
- "Hybrid Breakdowns and Electoral Authoritarianism: The Russian and Turkish Political Regimes in Comparative Perspective" (with Oksan Bayulgen and Sercan Canbolat), XVI. April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development, Moscow, April 7-10, 2015.
- "Young Democracies", Interdisciplinary Net 1 st of Global Conference: Revolt and Revolution, Athens You, November 4-6, 2013. (panel chair)
- "Oil and (Non) Democratic Politics: Explaining Resource Nationalism in Hybrid Regimes", Annual Meeting of Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago / IL, April 11-14, 2013.
- "Political Regimes, Investment Risk and Resource Nationalism: An Empirical Analysis", XIV. April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development, Moscow, April 2-5, 2013.
- "The Baltic Quest for Security: Threat Perception and Identity Construction in the National Security Debate", 8th Convention of the Central and East European International Studies Association, Istanbul, June 15-17, 2011.
- "Poking the Bear: The Russia - Georgia conflict in the US media and public opinion" (with Oksan Bayulgen), Annual Meeting of International Studies Association, Montreal, March 16-19, 2011.
- "Security Threats and Regime Persistence: An Empirical Analysis" (with Cemal Eren Arbatli), Annual Meeting of American Political Science Association, Washington / DC, September 2-5, 2010. (poster presentation)
- "Persistence of military regimes: Do external and internal security threats facilitate democratic transition?" (With Cemal Eren Arbatli), Annual Meeting of Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago / IL, April 22-25, 2010.
- "Poking the Bear: The Russia - Georgia conflict in the US media and public opinion" (with Oksan Bayulgen), Annual Meeting of Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago / IL, April 2-5, 2009. (presentation by co-author)
- "Persistence of military regimes and democratic consolidation: The case of Turkey", University of Connecticut Democracy and Democratization Conference, Storrs / CT, February 27-28, 2009.
Grants
- Erasmus+ Mobility Program International Grant, University of Iceland. (June 2017)
- CAS Individual Research Grant, Center for Advanced Studies, HSE. (2013-2014)
Employment history
- Associate Professor, School of Political Science, Higher School of Economics. (September 2018 - )
- Assistant Professor, School of Political Science, HSE. (2012 - 2018)
- Research Fellow, Center for Advanced Studies, HSE. (2012 - 2016)
How socio-political polarization erodes democracy
On February 13, the regular meeting of the Contemporary Issues in Political Science Research Seminar was held at the Faculty of Social Sciences. Associate professors of the School of Politics and Governance Ekim Arbatli and Dina Rosenberg presented the results of their research ‘United we stand, divided we rule: How socio-political polarization erodes democracy’.
Ekim Arbatli will be awarded the prize of the NPSA
Her co-authored article titled “Elite Survival Strategies and Authoritarian Reversal in Turkey” (with O. Bayulgen and S. Canbolat) was selected to win the Polity Prize by Northeastern Political Science Association. Prize committee judged it to be the best research article published in Polity in 2018.
HSE Book Series Published by Springer
Springer, one of the world's leading publishers of scientific literature, has launched a new book series, entitled ‘Societies and political orders in transition’. The series has been initiated by the HSE Faculty of Social Sciences, and three HSE representatives are members of the series International Advisory Board, with the other four members coming from universities in Germany, UK and the USA.
«Non-Western Social Movements and Participatory Democracy: Protest in the Age of Transnationalism»
The book "Non-Western Social Movements and Participatory Democracy: Protest in the Age of Transnationalism" by associate professors of the Department of Political Science Ekim Arbatli and Dina Rosenberg was published in the publishing house "Springer". It's the first book in the new series "Societies and political orders in transition", initiated by the Faculty of Social Sciences.
Bringing Research to the City
Within its “University Open to the City” project HSE holds many different lectures and discussions at various city venues, such as Moscow museums and Cultural Centre ZIL. Following the successful experience of HSE Open Talks lectures at HSE Day in September for the last three years (see The HSE Look October 2015, September 2014), the university launched a regular English-speaking series of public lectures HSE Talks, held at a coworking café. From February to April five speakers from the Faculty of Social Sciences gave their public talks, and The HSE Look talked to one of them, Assistant Professor Ekim Arbatli,to learn more about the impressions from participation in the project.