The relevant literatures on anxiety in existentialist philosophy, international relations theory, social psychology, and political science have been analyzed, and incorporated into a theoretical paper on anxiety, norms, and international political attitudes. The main arguments of this paper have been summarized in a preliminary diagram outlining pathways of interaction between anxiety, norms, and international political attitudes.
In Canada, an experiment with 431 full-time psychology (147) and political science (284) students has been conducted at University of British Columbia, Vancouver, during February-April 2018. Subsequently, in Turkey, an experiment with 453 full-time business and international relations students has been conducted at Koç University, Istanbul, during February-April 2019. The results of both experiments were comparatively analyzed and presented in a paper entitled, ‘How Do the Effects of Anxiety on International Political Attitudes Change across Cultures?’
During my stay at UBC, in addition to holding regular meetings with my supervisor Prof. Richard Price, I have developed an extensive interdisciplinary network among scholars in psychology and political science. During my re-integration phase at KU, I have held regular meetings with my supervisor, Prof. Ali Carkoglu and colleagues Dr. Selim Erdem Aytac and Dr. Zeynep Cemalcilar. I learned and implemented a new methodological approach, experimental methods, and refreshed my knowledge of statistical methods through independent study.
The project made valuable contributions to my career development. I was promoted to full professor at Koc University. I received invitations to present my work on anxiety from University of Lund, University of Gothenburg and to give the keynote address at the Annual Convention of the Central and Eastern European International Studies Association in June 2019. With these invited talks and keynote lecture, I was able to introduce my research to leading scholars of my discipline in Europe and North America. I have also led the development of a scholarly network on anxiety in international relations by organized a panel specifically on Anxiety and Identity Change at the 2019 ECPR General Conference in Wroclaw.
In terms of the dissemination of my project results to a broader audience, I have set up a web-site on the project, which includes short blogs on the theoretical framework and key findings in English and in Turkish.
