Profile: Nilüfer Narli ’93, Turkey
June 2006
Doctor Nilüfer Narli ’93, Turkey, is an internationally-recognized academic whose interests extend beyond the ivory tower. Social and cultural issues, as they effect and are affected by public policy, drive her research on Islamist movements, gender issues, migration, civil-military relations, and media and conflict. In addition to Narli’s long-standing contributions to policy development and participation in public debates, she is also a committed internationalist. Her career has taken her to Southeast Asia to study, throughout the European Union to work on public policy projects, and to the U.S. as an Eisenhower Fellow.
For Narli, becoming a social scientist was a natural choice. “When I was very young I wanted to understand humanity and to study human behavior,” she says. Narli passed up opportunities to pursue pharmacy or law to instead study a variety of social issues relevant in Turkey and the world.
While her research interests have evolved in response to a changing political and social landscape—including Turkey’s accession to the EU, the Islamist movement’s increasing appeal to young people, and mass population migration in the region-- Narli’s study of Islam has been constant since her days as a graduate student. was intrigued by the Iranian revolution of 1979 and “the revival of Islam as a political ideology.” That, combined with her desire to gain an international perspective, led her to the University Sains in Malaysia for her PhD studies. Her time in Malaysia resulted in several articles and a book on Malay women and Islam, as well as heightened self-awareness. “It was a very enriching experience as I learned how to live in a multi-ethnic society and interact with people from various cultures.”
Upon returning to Turkey following her doctoral studies, Narli took a professorship at Marmara University, where she was founding chair of the Sociology Department as well as chairing the Sociology and Anthropology Department of the Middle East Studies Institute. There she continued to study the role of women in Islamic societies, and the relationship between Islam and the state. As the author of numerous articles on the subject, she has become a prominent expert on social and political life in Turkey and is frequently called upon by the national and international media to comment on political and social matters, particularly regarding Islamist movements, women, children, and migration and human rights reforms.
It was as during this time that Narli came to the U.S. as an Eisenhower Fellow. Her program included meetings with academics and public policy specialists who focused on her areas of interest: women and Islam; religion and family planning; fundamentalism and family values in West and East; and Islamist movements, their roots, actors and profile of the followers. “These discussions were not only intellectually stimulating,” Narli recalls, “but they also had a direct impact on the research that I subsequently produced by exposing me to the work of scholars and experts with whom I could have in-depth discussions about areas that are my passion.”
The impact of her time on the program also extended beyond her research. “The fellowship opened doors to many institutions and cultural experiences, and I met many people with whom I shared ideas, insight, and concerns,” she says. “Further, it widened my horizons and enhanced my self confidence.” The experience also helped to build her international network—not just with Fellows, but with the U.S. academics and public policy makers she met.
In addition to her continuing interaction with U.S. contacts, Professor Narli’s academic-institutional partnerships have spanned the European Union. Her joint research has addressed such issues as the role of Islamist women in political parties in Turkey with the EU Commission and civil-military relations and transparency-building in defense budgeting in cooperation with the Center for European Security Studies in Holland. Other notable partnerships have included working with the Bernard Van Leer Foundation in the Netherlands, the Center for Turkish Studies, researchers at Essen University in Germany, the Paris-based National Center for Scientific Research, the French Anatolian Institute, UNESCO, and Sweden’s Uppsala University.
Putting her research into action, Narli has lectured and presented at conferences to train civil society members, and worked to develop bridges between civil society and universities. Additionally, she has participated in several conferences on human mobility in the Middle East and the Balkans, and was a conflict resolution trainer for the Southeast Europe Leadership Initiatives for Women in the Balkan countries. Narli has provided technical assistance to local governments with their development of projects for street children, disadvantaged youth and women. Her commitment to advancing women’s rights continues to be a priority. Narli participated in the Turkish Delegation to Beijing +5 Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the 21st Century (23rd special session of the UN General Assembly in 2000), and is a member of the Turkish Delegation of the UN 50th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in 2006.
Narli’s energies are now focused on helping train Turkey’s next generation of social scientists. In 2003 she founded the Faculty of Communication at Kadir Has University and served as its dean. Now full professor as well as vice rector at Bahcesehir University, Narli continues to promote international cooperation and encourages her students to become global citizens. As head of the international academic cooperation efforts of the university since September 2005, she has fostered joint programs with universities in China, Korea, the EU, and the U.S.
The EF Fellow network has served Narli well, and she has fostered international cooperation on a personal level by keeping in close contact with EF and with Fellows in her cohort and in countries she visits. Thinking back on her fellowship, Narli says that “the most unexpected outcome of the fellowship is that I feel I am part of a global family network, the EF fellowship alumni network.” To this end, Narli has assumed a prominent role in organizing activities and committee work with EF Turkey, and she actively supports the promotion of EF in Turkey and abroad. She is looking forward to meeting with Fellows at the September 2006 EF conference in Istanbul, and to continuing her leadership role in promoting global awareness and understanding.
Click here for a full list of Narli’s publications.