Alpaslan Özerdem

Alpaslan Özerdem is Dean of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution (formerly known as the School for Conflict Analysis & Resolution) and professor of peace and conflict studies. Prior to his appointment as Dean in August 2019, Dr. Özerdem was Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at Coventry University in the UK.

Dr. Özerdem specializes in conflict resolution, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction. With over 20 years of field research experience in Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, El Salvador, Indonesia, Kosovo, Lebanon, Liberia, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and Turkey. Dr. Özerdem has undertaken numerous research projects that were funded by the UK’s Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC); British Academy, US Institute of Peace, and various US and European Union funding schemes.

Dr. Özerdem has published extensively (14 books and numerous journal articles, book chapters and op-eds) and amongst others, is author of Post-war Recovery: Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (2008); co-author of Managing Emergencies and Crises (2011 & 2022); co-editor of Child Soldiers: From Recruitment to Reintegration (2011); co-author of Peace in Turkey 2023: The Question of Human Security and Conflict Transformation (2013); co-editor of Human Security in Turkey (2013); co-author of Youth in Conflict and Peacebuilding: Mobilization, Reintegration and Reconciliation (2015); co-editor of Local Ownership in International Peacebuilding (2015); (2016); co-editor of Routledge Handbook of Turkish Politics (2019), co-editor of Comparing Peace Processes (2020), co-editor of Routledge Handbook of Peace, Security and Development (2020), and co-editor of Routledge Handbook of Conflict Response and Leadership in Africa (2021). He is also co-editor of Modern Turkey Series by Edinburgh University Press.

Dr. Özerdem has also taken an active role in the initiation and management of several advisory and applied research projects for a wide range of national and international organizations such as the United Nations and international NGOs. He also runs tailor-made and in-country professional training programs for a wide range of audiences from humanitarian aid practitioners to civil servants and policy makers.  Dr. Özerdem is a frequent speaker and workshop leader for events organized by the private sector, higher education institutions, international organizations and governmental authorities. He is a member of the Anna Lindh Foundation Scientific Committee, and received his Professor Extraordinary in Politics title by Stellenbosch University in 2017 and visiting professorship to the Jiangsu University and Coventry University in 2019.
 

Media Appearances

• What the Montreux Convention is, and what it means for the Ukraine war. The Conversation, March 2, 2022.
• Will the Post COVID-19 World Be Different? Hurriyet Daily News, May 8, 2020.
• Exiting from Pandemic Lockdowns with Lessons from Aid World. The Hill, April 29, 2020.
• United Nations Security Council Brief on Reconciliation, November 19, 2019

Degrees

• PhD, Post-war Recovery Studies, University of York
• MSc, Built Environment, South Bank University, London
• BSc, Civil Engineering (First Class Honours), Istanbul Technical University