{"id":4091,"date":"2026-04-27T14:17:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T11:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ir.bilkent.edu.tr\/?page_id=4091"},"modified":"2026-04-27T14:32:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T11:32:51","slug":"2025-phd-graduates","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ir.bilkent.edu.tr\/?page_id=4091","title":{"rendered":"2025 PhD Graduates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile is-vertically-aligned-top\" style=\"grid-template-columns:19% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"473\" height=\"629\" src=\"https:\/\/ir.bilkent.edu.tr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/haceratabas.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4092 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ir.bilkent.edu.tr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/haceratabas.jpg 473w, https:\/\/ir.bilkent.edu.tr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/haceratabas-226x300.jpg 226w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 473px) 100vw, 473px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p><strong>Hacer Ataba\u015f<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hacer Ataba\u015f holds a double major in Political Economy &amp; Social Philosophy and International Relations from Istanbul Bilgi University, a master&#8217;s degree in Modern Turkish History from the Atat\u00fcrk Institute at Bo\u011fazi\u00e7i University, and a doctorate in International Relations from Bilkent University (2025). Her doctoral dissertation empirically examined the outcomes of T\u00fcrkiye&#8217;s government-funded scholarship programs through a Theory of Change framework, drawing on in-depth field interviews with alums from Kyrgyzstan, North Macedonia, and Egypt. The study assessed the extent to which policymakers&#8217; developmental goals were realized through beneficiaries&#8217; lived experiences, offering evidence-based recommendations for scholarship diplomacy. At Africa Foundation, she develops and coordinates research programs on African political economy and T\u00fcrkiye\u2013Africa relations, with a particular focus on the Horn of Africa. Her work encompasses fieldwork planning, policy-relevant knowledge production, and editorial responsibilities, including her role as co-editor of the Turkish Journal of International Development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dissertation Title:<\/strong>&nbsp;Scholarships as Development Assistance: An Empirical Analysis of the Outcomes of the Turkish Government Funded Scholarship Programs<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Supervisor:<\/strong>&nbsp;Selver B. \u015eahin<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Graduation Year:<\/strong>&nbsp;2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Affiliation:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Foreign Policy Advisor \u00b7 Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM)<br>Researcher \u00b7 Africa Foundation (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.afrikavakfi.org.tr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Afrika Vakf\u0131<\/a>)<br>Co-Editor \u00b7&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/tujid.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Turkish Journal of International Development (TUJID)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Research Interests:<\/strong>&nbsp;International Development, Development Assistance, Turkish Development Cooperation, International Higher Education, African Political Economy<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Contact:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/hacer-ataba%C5%9F-0b56201b4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Hacer-Atabas?ev=hdr_xprf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ResearchGate<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hacer Ataba\u015f Hacer Ataba\u015f holds a double major in Political Economy &amp; Social Philosophy and International Relations from Istanbul Bilgi University, a master&#8217;s degree in Modern Turkish History from the Atat\u00fcrk Institute at Bo\u011fazi\u00e7i University, and a doctorate in International Relations from Bilkent University (2025). Her doctoral dissertation empirically examined the outcomes of T\u00fcrkiye&#8217;s government-funded&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ir.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4091"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ir.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ir.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ir.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ir.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4091"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ir.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4104,"href":"https:\/\/ir.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4091\/revisions\/4104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ir.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}