Mustafa Kirisci

Dr. Mustafa Kirisci is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Director of the Master’s in Intelligence & Security Studies Program. He served in Turkish military as an officer.

Dr. Kirisci completed his Master’s in Criminal Justice and Ph.D. In Political Science. His research expertise falls in terrorism, civil conflict, interstate conflict, cyberwarfare, and civil-military relations. He is also a certified cybersecurity analyst. He has a CySA+ certification and works part-time as a Security Operation Center analyst at Access Point Consulting. His practical specialization in cybersecurity is incident response.

He recently completed another cybersecurity certificate, SC-900 (Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals) with a score of 944/1,000.

PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

“Land Reform, Repression and Counterinsurgency: Evidence from El Salvador”, with David Mason, Amalia Pulido, Jesse Hamner, Frank Howell, in Journal of Conflict Resolution

“US Military Training, External Support and Security Force Defections in Nonviolent Movements”, with Ilker Kalin, in International Interactions

“Proto-insurgencies, Repression and Civil War Onset: An Opportunity and Willingness Framework”, with Jason Quinn, David Mason, and Sally Sharif, in Defense and Peace Economics

2023. “Why do Some Terrorist Campaigns Escalate to Civil Wars but Others Don’t?” in Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict, with Ibrahim Kocaman and Isa Haskologlu

“What Restrains Military from Targeting Civilians in Civil Wars?” in Civil Wars, with Ibrahim Kocaman

2022. “State Capacity and Termination of Terrorist Campaigns: A Qualitative Evidence from PKK” in British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, with Cagil Albayrak and Isa Haskologlu

“Resource Wealth as Leverage: Natural Resources and the Failure of Non-Violent Campaigns”, Government and Opposition, 56(1), 102-120, with Emirhan Demirhan

“Who Fights Terror? Gendarmerie Forces and Terrorist Group Termination”, Terrorism and Political Violence, 1-26.

“Fighting for survival: Responding to State Capacity and Terror Group End,Critical Studies on Terrorism, 13:2, 312-336

“Militarized Law Enforcement Forces, State Capacity, and Terrorism”, Terrorism and Political Violence, 1-21.

“Reputation, Pressure and Concession-making in Interstate Claim Disputes.” with Michael Greig. International Negotiation1, no. aop: 1-29.

“Competence 2 Protect Civilians: State Capacity and Civilian Victimization in Civil Wars”, Journal of Management and Information Science, 7, no. 1: 1-18.

“Satisfaction with an Alternative Law Enforcement Approach, Gendarmerie: A Case Study for Turkey” with Ozgur Solakoglu, Gultekin Topaktas and Muhammed Burak Zabun. The Journal of International Social Research, 8, no. 39:529-538.

OP-ED AND POLICY-RELEVANT PIECES

“Why some terror campaigns escalate to civil war and others don’t – study reveals surprising new answers”, The Conversation, with Ibrahim Kocaman and Isa Haskologlu

“Why Polarization in the Military Is a Growing Concern for Democracies”, National Interest, with Ibrahim Kocaman and Cagil Albayrak

2023. “Climate Change, Great Power Competition and World Order in 2050”, National Assembly Futures Institute, in Seoul, South Korea, with Ibrahim Kocaman

“Turkey’s Foreign Policy Through a Purged Officer’s Eyes”, Inkstickmedia

“Humiliation is the Key to Understanding Widespread Rebellion”, Political Violence at a Glance, with Ibrahim Kocaman

“How Can’t ISIS Re-emerge? Weak States and Post-ISIS Challenges”, Beyond the Horizon with Resul Mulayim.

SELECTED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

“Hurting Diversity: Diversification of Militant Tactics and Negotiation Onset,”  Presented at American Political Science Association, Philadelphia, Pa., September 2024.

“Hurting Diversity: Tactical Diversification of Militant Groups and Negotiation Onset”, Presented at APSA Virtual Research Meeting, February 8-9, 2024.

“Social Polarization and Dynamics of Civil-Military Relations”, Presented at the annual meeting of American Political Science Association, August 31-September 3, 2023

“Social Polarization, Security Dilemma, and Appointment Decisions in Armed Forces”, Presented at the annual meeting of Peace Science Society, November 2-5, 2022.

“Conflict Exposure, Corporate Interests, and Military Officers’ Attitudes Toward Civil War Negotiations”, Presented at the annual meeting of ISA, March 28-April 2^nd.

“Western-educated Soldiers, Foreign Support and Security Defection in Nonviolent Movements”, Presented at the annual meeting of SPSA, January 13-15, 2022.

“Fruits of Unpredictability: Tactical Diversity and Negotiations with Rebels”, Presented at the annual meeting of ISA-South, October 8-9,2021

“NATO and Turkey ‘ Relations’: The Underlying Reasons Behind the Crisis and Possible Future Scenarios”, Presented at the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, October 15-17, 2021.

“Repression, Rivalry and The Escalation of Terrorist Campaigns to Civil Wars”, Presented at the annual meeting of American Political Science Association, September 9-13, 2020.

“Macro- and Micro-Level Restraints on Armed Forces and Civilian Killings in Civil Wars” Presented at the annual meeting of International Security and Arms Control Conference, October 18-19, 2019

“Military Professionalization and Civilian Victimization in Civil Wars”. Presented at the annual meeting of Southern Political Science Association, January 17-19, 2019.

“Bad Capacity: State Capacity, Terrorist Group Behavior and Terrorist Group Termination.” Presented at the annual meeting of Peace Science Society, November 8-10, 2018

“Repression, Accommodation and Terrorism in the Post-Civil War Environment”. Presented at the annual meeting of Midwestern Political Science Association, April 5-8, 2018.

“Who Fights Terrorism: Gendarmerie, Terrorism and Counterterrorism”. Presented at the annual meeting of International Security and Arms Control Conference, October 13-14, 2017.

“Besieging and Eliminating Terrorists: Bureaucratic Capacity, Cooperation and Terrorism”. Presented at the annual meeting of International Studies Association, February 22-25, 2017.

“Reputation, Pressure and Concession Making in Claim Disputes”. Presented at the annual meeting of American Political Science Association, September 1-4, 2016.

• Cyber Defense and Strategy
• Energy and Geopolitics
• Cyberwarfare and Cybersecurity
• Ethics and Compliance