Birgul Kutan

Birgul Kutan
Birgul Kutan
Affiliation: University of Sussex
Project Role: Country facilitator for Syria/Turkey

Dr Birgul Kutan is Researcher at the University of Sussex. She has a PhD in Geography and two MAs (one in human geography, one in international development) from the University of Bristol. She is a political geographer and ethnographer with expertise in contemporary politics and social movements in Turkey. Birgul’s work primarily focuses on the crucial role non-state actors play in social change. Major themes in her work include notions of democracy and human rights, nation state, social movements, prefigurative politics, gender politics and struggles, decoloniality, knowledge production and construction of new futures, especially in relations to social movements constructing new paradigms towards creating new political societies around the world. She has recently completed research on a major ESRC funded project exploring ‘Learning and Knowledge Production in the Struggle for Peace with Social Justice’ in Turkey, Colombia, South Africa and Nepal. Dr Kutan led the research on the HDK (Peoples Democratic Congress).

Team Members

Tejendra Pherali

Tejendra Pherali is Professor of Education, Conflict and Peace at IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, University College London. His research and teaching focus on education, conflict and international development with a particular focus on education in...

Elaine Chase

Elaine Chase is Professor in Education, Wellbeing and International Development at UCL Institute of Education.  Her teaching, research and writing explore the sociological dimensions of health, wellbeing and rights of individuals and communities,...

Laila Kadiwal

Dr Laila Kadiwal is a Lecturer in Education and International Development at the UCL Institute of Education. Laila works on the intersections of identity and education in conflict-affected settings. She has researched in India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and the UK. Dr...

Chayan Vaddhanaphuti

Professor Chayan Vaddhanaphuti received his BA from Chulalongkorn University, MPA from the National Institute of Development Administration, MA in Anthropology and PhD in International Development Education with concentration in Anthropology from Stanford University....

Hawng Tsai

Hawng Tsai is a teacher, teacher educator and an education policy advocate especially for peace education, MTB-MLE and right to education. She has been working with ethnic education groups, monastic education, faith-based education, migrant education, IDPs education,...

Chawin Pongpajon

Chawin Pongpajon is a lecturer, who teaches and supervises Thai language arts pre-service teachers for secondary schools, at the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. He is also a guest researcher at the...

Chumsak Nararatwong

Chumsak Nararatwong received his BA from Ramkhamhaeng University, MA in Social Development Administration and in Social Analysis and Planning from the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) and is currently studying for a PhD in Sustainable...

Tula Narayan Shah

Tula Narayan Shah is the Executive Director of Nepal Madhesh Foundation (NEMAF), a non-governmental organization working in the area of public education, youth migration and local governance in the rural areas of the Madhesh region of Nepal. He has...

Walter Flores

Dr. Walter Flores is a social scientist and human rights advocate with over 25 years of professional experience. He holds a PhD and a Masters of Community Health from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK. Dr. Flores’ professional work has been carried-out in...

Edith Martinez

Edith is a ñuu savi (people of the rain) woman originally from the ejido of Zitlaltepec, municipality of Metlatónoc, in the high mountains of Guerrero. For the past 15 years she has worked for various organisations in the mountain region, collaborating in women's and...

Valentina Glockner

Valentina Glockner is a Mexican anthropologist affiliated with Departamento de Investigaciones Educativas (DIE) at CINVESTAV, in Mexico City. She has specialized in childhood studies, (im)migration, forced displacement and the anthropology of the state and...

Arif Sahar

Arif Sahar is a researcher within the Centre of Excellence in Terrorism, Resilience, Intelligence and Organised Crime Research (CENTRIC) Institute at Sheffield Hallam University. His research mainly focuses on international security and terrorism. Prior to this...

Sardar Saadi

Dr. Sardar Saadi is the director of the institute of social sciences at the University of Rojava. He is also one of the co-founders of the Center for Solidarity and Cooperation with Universities of North and East Syria (CSCUNES) that is based in Paris. At the same...