Merve Erdilmen

Interview with

Current affiliation
  • McGill University
Hosting institute
Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies
Contact
Key expertise
  • Refugee-led organizations
  • gender
  • gender equality
  • refugee protection
Regional expertise
  • Türkei
  • Middle East

Profile according to FFVT taxonomy

Fields of research
  • Governance Research
  • Migration Research
Scientific topics
  • Civil Society Engagement
  • Gender
  • Humanitarianism
  • International Protection
  • Self-Organization
Disciplines
  • Political Sciences

Academic education / CV

2018-present: PhD in Political Science with Gender Studies Specialization at McGill University, Canada

2016-2018: MA in Political Science at McGill University, Canada

2010-2016: BA in Philosophy and BS in Sociology (double major), Middle East Technical University, Ankara

2016: Sciences Po Academic Exchange year, Sciences-Po, L’Institut d’etudes politique (IEP) de Paris, Paris, France

Relevant publications

  • M. Bradley , M. Erdilmen. Is the International Organization for Migration Legitimate? Rights-Talk, Protection Commitments and the Legitimation of the IOM. In Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 49(9), 2332-2354. 2023. Routledge.
  • M. Bradley, L. Madokoro, M. Erdilmen. Whither the Refugees? The Evolution of the Idea and Pursuit of Durable Solutions to Displacement, 1921-1960. In Refugee Survey Quarterly, 41(2), 159-195. 2022. Oxford University Press.
  • E. Kayran, M. Erdilmen. When Do States Give Voting Rights to Non-Citizens? The Role of Population, Policy, and Politics on the Timing of Enfranchisement Reforms in Liberal Democracies. In Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 47(13), 2855-2876. 2020. Routledge.
  • M. Erdilmen. Review of Justice for People on the Move: Migration in Challenging Times by Gillian Brock. In Journal of Refugee Studies, 34(3), 3545-3548. 2021. Oxford University Press.
  • M. Erdilmen. Review of Failure and Hope: Fighting for the Rights of the Forcibly Displaced by Christine Mahoney. In Central and Eastern European Migration Review, 7(2), 131-132. 2018. Polska Akademia Nauk.

Interview

Q1. Who are you?

I am Merve, PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. I am a research assistant for Durable Solutions Cluster at Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN). I also worked as a research associate at GLOBALCIT at the European University Institute on an international project on statelessness and birthright citizenship and a consultant for International Organization for Migration (IOM). My research focuses on the localization of humanitarian assistance, gender mainstreaming, and refugee-led organizations in Turkey.

Q2. What was your motivation to apply for the FFVT fellowship? Why Germany?

To build new collaborations, exchange ideas on our common research interests, learn from the diverse expertise as well as Turkey-focused interests of FFVT colleagues at IMIS, and conduct some in person interviews with key stakeholders in transnational refugee-led networks in Germany were my main motivations to apply for the FFVT fellowship. Moreover, I wanted to be in close conversation with colleagues who are from different disciplines and benefit from interdisciplinary conversations on the nexus of forced migration and gender.

Q3. What do you expect from the fellowship?

I hope to be able to start building academic collaborations and opportunities to brainstorm together with colleagues at IMIS and other FFVT member institutions. Disseminating our research with the greater public and refugee communities in Germany, Turkey, and Canada is another important expectation for me.

Q4. What is the focus of your work, and what is innovative about it? / What are your planned outcomes and activities for the fellowship period? And how do they relate to your FFVT hosting institution/ the FFVT cooperation project?

My research focuses on refugee-led organizations’ role in providing and advocating for gender-sensitive protection services and in localizing the refugee response in Turkey. I aim to deepen our understanding of refugee agency and develop postcolonial approach to localization discussions in humanitarian assistance. For this end, I have started to conduct interviews with relevant actors in Germany and discussed my research with colleagues at IMIS who also work on gender, forced migration, and localization.

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