Sait Akşit is an Associate Professor of International Relations and is currently the Chair of the International Relations Department at Near East University. He received his PhD in International Relations from Middle East Technical University. He spent a year at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy as a doctoral researcher. After completing his PhD in 2006, he worked as a research fellow and project manager at the Center for European Studies, METU and taught at various universities in Turkey before joining Near East University in 2016. His fields of research include Turkish foreign policy, Turkey and Cyprus, international political economy, transformations in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. His publications include several articles and book chapters on these topics, which can be accessed at http://neu-tr.academia.edu/SaitAksit.