Doç. Dr. Mehmet Rakipoğlu

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Rakipoğlu graduated from the Department of International Relations at Sakarya University in 2016. He completed his PhD at the Middle East Institute of Sakarya University with a dissertation titled "Hedging Strategy in Foreign Policy: Post-Cold War Saudi Arabia's Relations with the United States, China and Russia." He has worked as an advisor and researcher at several think tanks, including ORSAM, Dimensions for Strategic Studies, and the Mokha Center for Strategic Studies. He is one of the book review editors of Insight Turkey. His work has been published in national and international journals and edited volumes. Between 2025 and 2026, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter. His research interests include Middle East politics, Türkiye–Gulf relations, and the relationship between religion and politics. Rakipoğlu is a faculty member in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Mardin Artuklu University.