Dr Zeynep Kilicoglu

I am a dedicated feminist scholar whose passion lies in researching migration and forced displacement. My work revolves around unraveling the way humanitarian organizations in Western Europe, particularly in the UK and France, construct the identities of women refugees and asylum-seekers. I am particularly interested in analyzing how these entities ascribe specific meanings to women's empowerment within their daily operations, with a keen focus on the opportunities provided for refugee women to amplify their authorship, visibility, and political agency.

I closely collaborate with activist networks, engaging with refugee and asylum-seeking women from diverse backgrounds. My epistemological approach involves employing ethnographic methods to co-create academic knowledge in partnership with marginalized communities. I am deeply committed to promoting inclusivity and ensuring active community engagement throughout my research processes.

I am the author of 'Deconstructing Refugee Women’s Empowerment: A Comparative Approach to British and French Aid Structures', published by Routledge in 2025, as part of their Migration and Diaspora Studies series. This research is funded by various institutions, including the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence.

I completed my bachelor’s degree in International Relations at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey (2014) and my master’s degree in Environmental Politics and Development at London School of Economics and Political Science in London, UK (2015). I obtained my PhD degree in International Relations from Florida International University in Miami, Florida (2022), in which I specialized in Feminist International Relations Theory. Before taking on my current role at the London School of Economics, I served as a Tutor in International Security Studies at Swansea University, Wales.

Expertise

Critical Security Studies, Migration and Refugee Studies, Feminist International Relations Theory