Ilke Toygur

Biography

Dr. Ilke Toygür is a Senior Associate with the CSIS Europe Program and a professor at the University Carlos III of Madrid teaching courses on European (geo)politics. Her main areas of expertise include European integration, EU institutions, elections and democracy in Western Europe, geopolitics of Europe, transatlantic relations, and Turkey’s relations with the West. She also serves as a board member of Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA) in Brussels.

Dr. Toygür began her career back in 2008 working at the Economic Development Foundation (IKV), a research institute focusing on the European Union. In 2016, she completed her PhD degree in Political Science at Autonomous University of Madrid. Her doctoral research focused on the impact of European integration on the vote and party system change in Western Europe in times of crises. In 2015 she was granted Mercator-IPC Fellowship in Istanbul Policy Center. Following her PhD, she worked for the Elcano Royal Institute in Madrid, and for the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Brussels. She has been a Visiting Researcher at the European University Institute (EUI), University of Mannheim, and Brookings Institution. Her work has so far appeared in Carnegie Europe, German Marshall Fund of the United States, Brookings Institution, Foreign Affairs, Der Spiegel and El País, among others. She currently advises European governments and EU institutions on contemporary challenges facing Europe. She frequently comments on European affairs in international media. She is native in Turkish and speaks fluent English and Spanish. 

Education

  • Ph.D. 2011 - 2016

    PhD in Political Science

    Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

  • M.A. 2010 - 2011

    MA in Democracy and Government

    Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

  • M.A. 2006 - 2008

    MA in Economics

    Sabancı University, Istanbul, Turkey

  • M.A. Sep. 2007 - Feb. 2008

    Erasmus Student Exchange

    Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, Vienna, Austria

  • B.S. 2002 - 2006

    BS in Economics

    Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

Other Affiliations

  • Jan. 2019 Present

    Board Member

    Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), Brussels, Belgium

  • Jan. 2018 Present

    Fellow of Transatlantic Relations Initiative

    IE University, Madrid, Spain

  • March 2014 Dec. 2014

    Visiting Scholar

    Universität Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany

  • Feb. 2013 July 2013

    Visiting Scholar

    European University Institute, Florence, Italy

Professional Experience

  • 10.2020 Present

    German Institute of International and Security Affairs (SWP) - Berlin, Germany

    CATS Fellow

  • 01.2017 01.2022

    Real Instituto Elcano - Madrid, Spain

    Analyst for European Affairs

  • 01.2017 Present

    Universidad Carlos III de Madrid - Madrid, Spain

    Adjunct Profesor

  • 11.2015 11.2016

    Istanbul Policy Center, Sabancı University - Istanbul, Turkey

    Mercator - IPC Fellow

  • 10.2011 10.2015

    Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Department of Political Science and International Relations - Madrid, Spain

    Researcher

  • 09.2008 09.2010

    Economic Development Foundation (İKV) - Istanbul, Turkey

    Researcher

  • 09.2009 12.2009

    Economic Development Foundation (İKV) - Brussels, Belgium

    EU Expert

  • 09.2006 06.2008

    Sabancı University, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences - Istanbul, Turkey

    Teaching Assistant

  • 02.2006 03.2006

    Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, Foreign Relations Department - Ankara, Turkey

    Trainee

  • 06.2004 07.2004

    Turkish Ministry of Treasury and Foreign Trade, International Economic Relations - Ankara, Turkey

    Trainee