Hülya Kınık is Assistant Professor of International Relations at Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey. She holds PhD on International Relations from Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey. Her dissertation explores the effects of Rising Powers on the international system, mainly focusing on Turkey. Her primary research interests are Turkish Foreign Policy, Rising Powers and Geopolitical Studies.

Fevzi Kırbaşoğlu works as Research Assistant of the International Relations Department at Karadeniz Technical University (KTU), Türkiye. He received MA degree in 2019 from the International Relations Department of KTU, with a thesis entitled “The EU’s Response to Rising Powers: The Case of Turkey”. In the same year, he started his doctoral studies in the field of International Security and Terrorism under the Council of Higher Education's (CoHE) prestigious 100/2000 PhD Scholarship Program. His current research interests include EU Law and Institutions, European Political Integration, and the geopolitical dynamics of the Black Sea region.