Murat Somer is a Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Koç University, Istanbul. He is an expert on polarization and de-polarization, religious and secular politics, ethnic conflicts, autocratization and democratization, and widely published in books, book volumes as well as journals such as Comparative Political Studies and Democratization. His recent publications include a special issue on polarization and democracy of the ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (2019), “Overcoming Polarization,” Journal of Democracy (2021), both with Jennifer McCoy, and Return to Point Zero: The Turkish-Kurdish Question and How Politics and Ideas (Re)Make Empires, Nations and States (SUNY Press, 2022). His previous held visiting positions include many institutions such as Princeton University Institute for International and Regional Studies (2010-11), Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies (2013-14) and Sanford University Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies (2019).