Baris Kesgin
Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy
Department: Political Science and Public Policy
Email: bkesgin@elon.edu
Phone number: (336) 278-6436
Professional Expertise
Brief Biography
Baris Kesgin’s (he/him/his) research focuses on leadership and decision-making in Israeli and Turkish foreign policy, and also published on India and the small Pacific Islands. He teaches courses in international relations and comparative politics –specifically, in foreign policy analysis, political psychology, and the Middle East. Kesgin is an active member of several professional organizations, where he has served in different roles. Kesgin served as the president of International Studies Association (ISA) -Midwest in 2020, and ISA's FPA section vice-president, co-program chair in 2021. Kesgin also served on the Governing Counincl of the ISA. He is the faculty advisor to the Pi Sigma Alpha (National Political Science Honor Society) Undergraduate Journal of Politics. At Elon, Kesgin is the Associate Director of the Honors Program.
News & Notes
Education
2011. Ph.D. Political Science University of Kansas
2005. M.A. Political Science University of Memphis
2003. B.S. Honors Political Science & Public Adm. Orta Dogu Teknik Üniversitesi
Employment History
Elon University
2020-present. Associate Professor of Political Science
2022-present. Associate Director of the Honors Program
2018-2022. Associate Coordinator of the International & Global Studies Program
2016-2020. Assistant Professor of Political Science
Susquehanna University
2014-2016. Director of the International Studies Program
2011-2016. Assistant Professor of Political Science
Courses Taught
Elon University
- Comparative Politics
- Comparative Foreign Policy
- Divided Lands: Bosnia&Herzegovina and Cyprus
- Global Experience
- God and Politics: Practices of Leadership
- International Relations
- Middle East Politics
- Middle East Issues in Films
- Profiles in Courage in the Middle East
- Profiling Political Leaders /Honors
Susquehanna University
- Comparative Foreign Policy
- Global Citizenship (Cross-Cultural Experience Reflection Course)
- International Relations of the Middle East
- International Studies Theory and Practice
- Middle East Politics and Society
- Political Psychology
- Protest in the Middle East
- Senior Seminar (Political Science/International Studies Capstone)
- World Affairs (Introduction to International Relations)
Leadership Positions
2022-2025. Member of the Governing Council, International Studies Association.
2022-2025. Member of the Innovative Pedagogy Conference Planning Committee, International Studies Association.
2020-2021. Foreign Policy Analysis Section Co-Chair, International Studies Association 2021 Meeting.
2020. President, International Studies Association –Midwest Region.
2020. Member of the Governing Council, International Studies Association.
2019. Annual Conference Program Chair, International Studies Association –Midwest Region.
2018-2021. Member of the Executive Board, Foreign Policy Analysis Section, International Studies Association.
2017. Leadership and Political Personality Section Co-Chair, the 40th Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society for Political Psychology (ISPP).
2015-2017. Member of the Executive Board, International Studies Association –Midwest Region.
2010-2012. Member of the Executive Board, International Studies Association –Midwest Region.
Current Projects
2022-present. Director of Turnage Family Fund for the Study of Political Communication
Grants Awarded
External
2010- 2013. “The Effects of Leadership Style and Personality on Turkish Foreign Policy” (co-investigator), The Science and Research Board of Turkey (TUBITAK).
Internal
2024. Legislatures' speakers in foreign policy, Provost’s Office, Elon University.
2023. Legislatures' speakers in foreign policy, Provost’s Office, Elon University.
2022. Vice-presidents and foreign policy, Provost’s Office, Elon University.
2018. Interviews with Turkish political leaders, the Elon College, Elon University.
2013. “Collaborative Teaching,” Center for Teaching and Learning, Susquehanna University
2011. “Teaching with Simulations,” Center for Teaching and Learning, Susquehanna University
Publications
2025. "Introducing the American Women Political Leaders’ Operational Codes Dataset" (with Katherine Graham McCormick, Class of 2024). PS: Poltical Science & Politics.
2024, “Tailoring Quotations to Audiences: Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at Youth and Muhtar Meetings” in Not My Words: How and Why Elected Officials Quote, Requote, and Misquote Others, edited by Ofer Feldman.
2023. “The Operational Codes of Pacific Island Countries' Leaders: Beliefs about the World amidst Climate Change.” Foreign Policy Analysis.
2022b. “Dueling Personalities and Leadership Styles: Gül, Erdogan, and the Parliament in Turkey’s Policymaking during the 2003 Iraq War.” Teoria Polityki 6: 169-191.
2022a. “The “I” in BRICS: Leadership Traits of Indian Prime Ministers and India's Role Adaptation to Rising Status in World Politics,” with Leslie Wehner. Journal of International Relations and Development 25 (2): 370-398.
2021. "Turkish leaders and their foreign policy decision-making style: a comparative and multi-method perspective" (with Esra Cuhadar, Juliet Kaarbo & Binnur Ozkececi-Taner), Turkish Studies, 22(1): 1-27.
2020a. "Features of foreign policy birds: Israeli prime ministers as hawks and doves," Cooperation and Conflict, 55(1): 107-126.
2020b. "Turkey's Erdogan: Leadership Style and Foreign Policy Audiences," Turkish Studies, 21(1): 56-82.
2019. "Uncharacteristic foreign policy behavior: Sharon's decisions to withdraw from Gaza," International Area Studies Review, 22(1): 76-92.
2017a. “Personality or Role? Comparisons of Turkish Leaders Across Different Institutional Positions” (with Esra Cuhadar, Juliet Kaarbo & Binnur Ozkececi-Taner), Political Psychology, 38(1): 39-54.
2017b. “Examining Leaders’ Orientations to Structural Constraints: Turkey's 1991 and 2003 Iraqi War Decisions” (with Esra Cuhadar, Juliet Kaarbo, and Binnur Ozkececi-Taner), Journal of International Relations and Development, 20(1): 29-54.
2013. “Leadership Traits of Turkey’s “Islamist” and “Secular” Prime Ministers,” Turkish Studies, 14(1): 136-57.
---2015. “Leadership Traits of Turkey’s “Islamist” and “Secular” Prime Ministers,” reprinted in Cengiz Erisen (ed.), Political Psychology of Turkish Political Behavior. Routledge.
2013. “Leaders’ Impact on Foreign Policy Making Processes” (in Turkish), in Murat Erdogan (ed.), Foreign Policy Analysis. Eskisehir: Anadolu University Press, pp. 106-20.
2012. “Tansu Ciller's Leadership Traits and Foreign Policy,” Perceptions: A Journal of International Affairs, 17(3): 29-50.
2012. “The 2011 Parliamentary Election in Turkey,” Electoral Studies, 31(4): 867-70.
2012. “Operational Code Analysis: Belief System of Turkish Prime Ministers” (in Turkish), in Ertan Efegil and Mehmet Seyfettin Erol (eds.), Theories of Foreign Policy: Analysis of Turkish Foreign Policy. Ankara: Baris Yayinevi, pp. 415-49.
2012. “Psychological Factors in Foreign Policy: An Analysis of Turkish-Greek Relations” (with Cengiz Erisen. in Turkish), in Ertan Efegil and Ridvan Kalayci (eds.), Theories of Foreign Policy: Analysis of Turkish Foreign Policy. Ankara: Nobel Yayinevi, pp. 553-80.
2010. “Foreign Policy Analysis.” In John Ishiyama and Marijke Breuning (eds.), 21st Century Political Science: A Reference Handbook, SAGE Publishers, pp. 336-43.
2010. “When and How Parliaments Influence Foreign Policy: The Case of Turkey’s Iraq Decision” (with Juliet Kaarbo). International Studies Perspectives, 11(1): 19-36.
Commentaries
2016. “Do Personalities Change When Prime Ministers Become Presidents?” (with Esra Cuhadar, Juliet Kaarbo & Binnur Ozkececi-Taner), presidential-power.com
2015. “Papatya Falindan Oteye Hukumet Kurma Sureci Uzerine Tahminler” (with Esra Cuhadar, & Binnur Ozkececi-Taner), Birikim,
Presentations
Invited Talks
2022. Political Leadership of Withdrawal: Comparing Israel’s Disengagements, Susquehanna University
2022 (virtual). Tansu Ciller and the Kardak/Imia Crisis, Istanbul Yeditepe University.
2021. Small Pacific Islands’ Leadership and Worldviews. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
2021 (virtual). Leadership Traits Analysis. Izmir Katip Celebi University.
2020 (virtual). Individuals and Foreign Policy. Istanbul Medeniyet University.
2018. Beyond Hawks and Doves: Leadership Traits of Israel’s Prime Ministers. University of Memphis.
2017. Political Leadership and Foreign Policy in Democracies and Authoritarian Systems. High Point University.
2016. An Introduction to the Middle East. St. Paul’s United Church of Christ (Selinsgrove, PA).
2014. Israel-Turkey Relations: Moments of Cooperation and Crisis, Congregation Beth El (Sunbury).
2012. Content Analysis in Political Psychology. Economics and Technology University (Ankara).
2009. Kansas Events Data System: Using TABARI and Data Generation. Wesleyan University (CT).
2009. Kansas Events Data System: Using TABARI and Data Generation. Syracuse University.
Professional Activities
2026-present. Co-Editor in Chief, Foreign Policy Analysis.
2020-2026. Editor and Faculty Advisor, Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society’s Undergraduate Research Journal.
2018-2026. Member of the Editorial Board of Foreign Policy Analysis.
Service Activities
2020-present. Member of the Campus Fulbright Committee, Elon University.
2016-present. Member of the Jewish Studies Program Advisory Board, Elon University.
2016-present. Member of the Middle East Studies Program Advisory Board, Elon University.
2021-2023. Member of the Promotion and Tenure Committee, Elon University.
2021-2022. Member of the Multi-Faith Strategic Planning Committee, Elon University,
2017-2022. Member of the Global Education Center Advisory Board, Elon University.
2016-2024. Member of the International & Global Studies Program Advisory Board, Elon University
Awards
2025. The Quincy Wright Distinguished Scholar, International Studies Association -Midwest Region.
2024. Excellence in Scholarship Award, the College of Arts and Science, Elon University.
2022. Faculty Leadership Fellow, Elon University.
2022. The Laura Roselle Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Mentorship, Elon University.
2022 [originally awarded in 2020]. Fellow, The Moshe Dayan Center, Tel Aviv University.
2021-present. Visiting Scholar, Center for Middle East Studies, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
2015. Fellow, Merrill Center for Strategic Studies, Johns Hopkins University
2014. Fellow, Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, Brandeis University
2010. M. G. Hermann Best Paper Utilizing Text Analysis in Leadership Studies, ISA-Midwest
2010. Joseph B. Harris Dissertation Fellowship, Political Science, University of Kansas
2009. M. G. Hermann Best Paper Utilizing Text Analysis in Leadership Studies, ISA-Midwest
2009. Research Fellowship, Graduate School, University of Kansas
2005. Nominee for the Graduate Assistant Meritorious Teaching Award, University of Memphis