Assoc. Prof. Murat Yeşiltaş has completed his BA and MA at the Department of International Relations of Sakarya University, in 2003 and 2009, respectively. He earned his PhD at the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Marmara University in 2012 with the thesis titled “Locating Turkey: Geopolitical Mentality and the Army in Turkey.” Yeşiltaş was a visiting researcher at the Department of European Studies and International Politics of Lancaster University between 2008 and 2009. He was a visiting researcher at Virginia Tech’s Institute of Government and International Relations in 2010-2011. Currently, Yeşiltaş is an Assoc. Professor in the Middle East Institute at Sakarya University. He also holds the position of director of security studies at SETA Foundation, Ankara, Turkey. Dr. Yesiltas current researches are on international security, terrorism, military studies ethnic and religious radicalization, non-state conflicts, and the Kurdish affairs. He is currently working on the following research projects The Rise of Kurdish Geopolitical Space, Border Security in the Middle East and The New Regional Security Project in the Middle East (NRSP). His recent books are Türkiye Dünyanın Neresinde? Hayali Coğrafyalar, Çarpışan Anlatılar (edit) (koç Ünivesitesi Yayınları, 2015) Jeopolitik Zihniyet ve Türkiye’de Ordu (Kadim, 2016), Non-State Military Actors in the Middle East: Geopolitics,Strategy and Ideology (edit) (Palgrave McMillan,2017)