I am a professor of Political Science and director of the School of Government & International Affairs at Kennesaw State University. Before joining to KSU, I was a professor of Political Science, and Goldstein Family Community Chair in Human Rights at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I teach courses on human rights and politics of the Middle East. I received my Ph.D. (2008) from Arizona State University and M.A. (2001) and B.A. (1999) from Bilkent University, Turkey. I previously taught in James Madison College at Michigan State University.

I am the author of Alien Citizens: State and Religious Minorities in Turkey and France (Cambridge University Press, 2020). With Carolyn Warner, Christopher Hale and Adam Cohen, I am a co-author of Generating Generosity in Catholicism and Islam: Beliefs, Institutions and Public Goods Provision (Cambridge University Press, 2018). I am the editor of a blog page, Siyasa: A Forum on Islamic and Middle Eastern Politics. My most recent articles appeared in Comparative Politics, Political Science Quarterly, Politics and Religion, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, and Turkish Studies. 

I am the recipient of the 2021 system-wide University of Nebraska Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award, the 2022 campus-wide Faculty Service Learning Award, the 2020 campus-wide Excellence in Teaching Award, the 2021 college-wide Research and Creative Activity Award, and the 2018 college-wide Alumni Outstanding Teacher Award.