She holds a PhD in Middle East Politics from University of Durham. Ozlem’s interest in Syria started during her graduate studies and she has written her master thesis on “The Political Economy of Water and Self-Sufficiency in Syria and its Implications on Turkish-Syrian Relations”, which was later published as a book chapter in Turkish. Her recent articles include: “Civil Society in the Middle East and Mediterranean: An Exploration of Opportunities and Limitations” (with Mahi Khallaf), “From Distant Neighbors to Partners? Changing Syrian-Turkish Relations” Security Dialogue, 2006, and a forthcoming book on Lebanon in Turkish with Veysel Ayhan. Ozlem is also the editor of the journal “Ortadogu Etütleri” (Middle Eastern Studies), in Turkish, published biannually.