Mehmet Yavuz

Mehmet Yavuz

Assistant Professor

Contact Information

307 Justin Hall
785-532-5510
myavuz@k-state.edu

Education

  • Ph.D. in Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Manitoba
  • M.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Area(s) of Specialization and Interests

  • Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Ethnic Conflict and Peacebuilding
  • Divided Societies
  • Queer Studies / 2SLGBTQIA Studies
  • Youth Participation in Peacebuilding
  • Reconciliation
  • Identity
  • Intergenerational Trauma and Violence
  • Sexuality
  • Community-Engaged Research
  • Qualitative Methodologies
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Cyprus
  • Turkey
  • The Balkans
  • The Middle East

Research, Scholarship, and Creative Endeavors

Dr. Yavuz's research explores the intersections of peacebuilding, identity, activism, and marginalization, with a focus on how these dynamics shape societies and contribute to transformative change. Further, Mehmet’s work critically examines and seeks to disrupt normalized everyday violence - whether direct, structural, or cultural - across various social and cultural spaces.

Dr. Yavuz’s current research projects focus on rural pride activism, queer peacebuilding, and ethnic reconciliation. These include:

Exploratory Study on LGBTQIA+ Peace Activism and Struggles in Manhattan

This study, supported by a Peace and Justice Association mini grant, explores the experiences and perceptions of queer individuals living in the city of Manhattan, Kansas. The study’s goal is to deepen understanding of queer perspectives and help improve conditions for the community by examining the local Pride event.

Queer Peacebuilding and Reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina

This study investigates how LGBTQIA+ Bosniaks/Serbs/Croats navigate life in post-peace accord Bosnia while they work on peace activism to be more visible in the public and political context. The study aims to bring an interdisciplinary perspective through understanding the Bosnian conflict with a queer lens. This study further explores themes of activism, reconciliation, peacebuilding, and social justice, offering insights into the everyday challenges and opportunities faced by LGBTQIA+ individuals.

Prior to joining Kansas State University, Mehmet worked as an instructor at the University of Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba, and Lakehead University.

Dr. Yavuz is keen to serve on supervisory committees in his areas of specialization and interests. Students interested in developing research and praxis skills are welcome to join Dr. Yavuz’s lab, Creative Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation Lab (CPACT) as volunteers or paid research assistants (contingent on funding availability).

Courses Taught

CNRES 531- Core Conflict Resolution
CNRES 751- Conflict Resolution: Core Skills and Strategies

Recent and Relevant Publications Include:

Mehmet Yavuz. (2025). “All I Want is to Leave, but When I Do, I Never Truly Leave”: Queering Reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Journal of Homosexuality, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2025.2500990

Mehmet Yavuz. (2025), Good Tune Theory: An Exploration of LGBTQIA+ Peacebuilding in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Conflict Resolution Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21486

Mehmet Yavuz. (2024). The evolution of Pride in post-accord Sarajevo: A journey of visibility and resistance. Peace Review, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/10402659.2024.2432971

Mary Jean Hande, Mehmet Yavuz, Susan Rodriguez. (2024). Migrant justice research in crisis times: Developing reflexive, ethical, and responsive pandemic research with immigrant care workers. Studies in Social Justice, 18(3), 570-588. https://doi.org/10.26522/ssj.v18i3.4090

Mehmet Yavuz and Sean Byrne (2023). The peace is uneasy and needs to be won everyday: Economic assistance and peacebuilding among marginalized groups in Northern Ireland and the Border Area. 30 (1). Peace and Conflict Studies Journal.

Sean Byrne, Brett Mallon and Mehmet Yavuz. (2023). Civil society organizations, the Good Friday Agreement, and the Northern Ireland Peace Process. Special issue in Treatises and Documents: Journal of Ethnic Studies / Razprave in Gradivo, Revijaza narodnostna vprašanja, 90(90): 161-176. https://doi.org/10.2478/tdjes-2023-0011.

Mehmet Yavuz (2022). The Rise of the “penguin media”, censorship, resistance, and peace journalism: Turkey’s media policies between 2002 and 2020. Peace Research: The Canadian Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies. 54 (2): 60-121.

Mehmet Yavuz, Kelly Gorkoff, Nadine Bartlett, Natassia D’Sena, and Rebeca Heringer (2022). “Train up peers, use their experience, whatever your life experience is”: community mobilization, peacebuilding, and the local turn. Annual Review of Interdisciplinary Justice Research. 11: 11-44.

Kelly Gorkoff, Nadine Bartlett, Mehmet Yavuz, Rebeca Herringer, Natassia D’Sena (2021). Networked architectures of crime prevention: Community mobilization in Manitoba. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice. 63(3-4): 89-111. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjccj.2021-0008.

Mehmet Yavuz and Sean Byrne (2021). Violence against queer community in Turkey: Implications for peacebuilding and social justice. Journal for Peace & Justice Studies, 30(1): 102-125. https://doi.org/10.5840/peacejustice2021301/26.