Previous Team Members – De facto states research unit

Raul Toomla is a Lecturer of International Relations at the University of Tartu. He defended his PhD thesis on De Facto States in International System: Conditions for (In-)formal Engagement (University of Tartu, 2014). His main research focus is on the engagement of de facto states. Using set-theoretical methods, he attempts to determine their position in the international system. His other interests include international political economies and system level approaches to international affairs.

Butrint Berisha is a PhD researcher at the University of Tartu. He is primarily interested in de facto states foreign relations strategies. His thesis on Exploring the Role of Civil Society Organisations in the Foreign Policy of De Facto States: An Analysis of Kosovo, Palestine and Taiwan Since 2010 investigates how different actors in de facto states, such as civil society organisations, attempt to become diplomatic agents by engaging in recognition efforts.

Izzet Yalin Yüksel is a PhD researcher at the University of Tartu. His research interests consist of de facto states, identity politics, patron-client relations, ontological security, security studies and conflict resolution. His thesis on Hierarchy, Identity, and Patterns of Elite Navigation: Patron-Client Relations of Dependent Polities explores how partially recognised de facto states and internationally recognised microstates develop relations with their patrons and strategically navigate under the conditions of ontological insecurity.