During the 2022-2023 academic year, I am a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Digital Society Project and will be based at North Dakota State University in Fargo. I received my Ph.D. in political science from UW Milwaukee Political Science Department.
Here is an up-to-date CV.
I am a political scientist comparatively studying democratic backsliding, with a substantive focus on affective polarization and social networks, a methodological focus on survey experiments, and a regional focus on the Middle East.
In my dissertation, The Road to Democratic Backsliding, I develop and empirically assess a theoretical framework to explain puzzling support for illiberal incumbents, highlighting the micro-level tradeoffs associated with punishing leaders. I find that affectively polarized voters are more likely to tolerate incumbents who engage in undemocratic action. This project is generously ($15,000) financed by the National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant.
I have published my work in diverse outlets, including The Washington Post and peer-reviewed Democratization and Ethnopolitics. Outlets such as POTUS Radio's The Trendline and The Atlantic have covered my research.
You can reach me (in English or Turkish) at:
yunus[DOT]orhan[AT]ndsu[DOT]edu.