Demir Murat Seyrek is an Adjunct Professor at the Brussels School of Governance, teaching the Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Europe course in the Postgraduate Certificate in EU Policy Making programme, as well as the Global Terrorism, Counter-terrorism and De-radicalisation course in the BA in International Affairs, and the Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism and De-Radicalisation course in the MA in Diplomacy and Global Governance. He is also a Visiting Professior in the Political Science department of Vrije Universiteit Brussel, a Senior Policy Advisor at the European Foundation for Democracy, and a consultant in European Affairs. He has 19 years of experience in Brussels advising think tanks, NGOs, international organisations and governments and implementing projects and programmes in Europe, North America and MENA region. His work focuses on the prevention of radicalisation and the promotion of democracy and fundamental rights and freedoms. Murat is currently leading different projects on radicalisation, disinformation, transatlantic cooperation and the EU’s foreign policy. He is also supervising and contributing to several activities under the RAN (Radicalisation Awareness Network) Policy Support of the European Commission.
He began his career as the Brussels representative of the ARI Movement, a leading Turkish NGO in the 2000s, working on Turkey-EU relations and democratisation. During the Cyprus peace process (2003-2004) he took an active role in establishing contacts with the EU institutions and European think tanks on behalf of the Leader of the Turkish Cypriot Community. Murat has published widely on contemporary aspects of Turkish politics and foreign policy, including in newspapers and think tank publications. He also appears regularly on television and in print media, and has a weekly political talk show on Turkey-EU relations, the European Union and European values.
He holds a PhD in Social Sciences and an MA in European Studies from KU Leuven (Belgium) and a BSc in International Relations from the Middle East Technical University (Turkey). Murat speaks Turkish, English, and French.
