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Celebrating Newroz – Kurdish New Year – at UCF
In celebration of Newroz, Kurdish New Year, Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) organized two events on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. The first event featured a talk by Ambassador Peter W. Galbraith who gave a talk about prospects of independence of Iraqi Kurdistan. He served as the first U.S. ambassador to Croatia from 1993 to 1998 […]
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KPSP Welcomes a Scholar of Literature from Iranian Kurdistan
Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) is delighted to welcome Cyrus Amiri, Ph.D., as a visiting scholar in 2023. Amiri is an associate professor of English and Comparative Cultural Studies at the University of Kurdistan in Iran. Could you tell us more about your background? I was born in Kurdistan to a Kurdish family. I am […]
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A New Beginning: Model United Nations in Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government
By Léa Faure In close partnership with the Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) at the University of Central Florida (UCF), Soran University in Iraqi Kurdistan hosted the first Model United Nations Conference in Iraq from March 31 to April 2, 2022. Around 100 students from different parts of Iraqi Kurdistan and Iraq as well as […]
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Polarization and Fragmentation in Kurdish Politics and Beyond
By Doreen Horschig This past Thursday, November 21, 2019, the Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) hosted two distinguished scholars at the University of Central Florida for the event “Perspectives on Middle Eastern Politics: Polarization and Fragmentation.” The moderator of the event, Güneş Murat Tezcür, Jalal Talabani Chair and Professor at the School of Security, Politics, […]
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Kurdish Political Studies Program Welcomes Resident Senior Fellow Haidar Khezri, Ph.D.
In fall 2018, Haidar Khezri, Ph.D., joined the Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) as visiting faculty and senior fellow from Indiana University (IU), Bloomington. Dr. Khezri, born in Iranian Kurdistan, holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Damascus University in Syria, and a M.A. in comparative literature from Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran, Iran. He […]
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From Italy to UCF, Student Finds Success
Helin Yıldız traveled from Italy after being accepted by the Kurdish Political Studies Program to continue her master’s education abroad. During her time in Orlando, Yıldız attended courses at UCF, interacted with professors and students about her research and intellectual interests, participated in KPSP events and made trips to Washington, D.C. to conduct interviews. Yıldız […]
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In Search of a Lost Song: From New York to Dersim
On April 23, 2018, The Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) hosted the screening of the movie ‘Zer’ and a conversation with the director, Kazım Öz, who is one of the leading Kurdish directors of his generation. He is also the director of highly acclaimed Bahoz (The Storm), Fotoğraf (The Photograph), the short film Ax (The […]
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50 Students Attend Panel on Chemical Attacks
Thirty years after the attacks in Halabja in Iraqi Kurdistan, chemical weapons continue to be used against civilian populations in the Middle East. On April 12, 2018, the Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) in collaboration with the Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence (IC CAE) sponsored a panel on the chemical attacks and U.S. policies. […]
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From Coast to Mountains
December 11, 2017 Clayton Besaw, a PhD candidate in the Security Studies Program, is starting a full-time position as a Political Event Forecaster in One Earth Future based in Denver in few days. Clayton is also a member of the Research Group of the Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP). Before he embarks on his car […]
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Kurdish Aspirations, Geopolitical Realities
On November 16, the Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) sponsored an event about contemporary Kurdish politics in the Middle East with an audience of more than 30 people. Güneş Murat Tezcür, Ph.D., opened up the event and invited Kerstin Hamann, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Political Science, to present the Dr. Najmaldin Karim Fellowship […]
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Student Published in the Washington Post
Peyman Asadzade, UCF student pursuing a doctorate degree in security studies, recently published a blog post in the Washington Post’s Monkey Cage, which is a leading political blog with national exposure. His piece focused on public opinion and Iran’s involvement in the Syrian civil war. It discusses Iranian public response to Iran’s growing military presence […]
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A Chair For The New Kurdish Chair
Güneş Murat Tezcür, Ph.D., the Jalal Talabany Kurdish Political Studies Endowed Chair at UCF, was inaugurated on October 29th, as part of the Kurdish Political Studies Program’s panel presentation on Kurdish Political Issues. Dr. Kerstin Hamann, Chair of the Political Science Department and Co-Chair of the Kurdish Political Studies Program at UCF, welcomed and thanked the audience for […]