Our faculty member from the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Assist. Prof. Sümeyye Kaya Uyar, and our Res. Assist. Mustafa Yıldırım attended the Türkiye Computational Social Sciences Conference held at Koç University on April 18-19, 2025. At the conference, Kaya Uyar and Yıldırım presented their work titled “A Comparative Study of State Rhetoric and Humanitarian Responses in Ukraine and Palestine."
In their presentation, they examined how state rhetoric and humanitarian responses are shaped in two distinct regions, using the examples of Ukraine and Palestine, through a comparative approach. They specifically analyzed the differences and similarities between the international community's reactions and the rhetoric used by states in both regions. Using advanced natural language processing (NLP) methods such as BERTopic and LIWC, they discussed diplomatic rhetoric, humanitarian appeals, and public statements in both regions.
The study examined diplomatic rhetoric, humanitarian appeals, and public statements in both regions using advanced NLP methods like BERTopic and LIWC. They compared the relationship between the rhetoric used by states to defend their interests and the international responses to humanitarian crises. Additionally, they addressed the role of social media and digital platforms in this process.
The paper, which stood out for its methodological innovation and interdisciplinary perspective, was met with interest by the participants. The research was considered an important example of the effective use of computational methods in social sciences.
As the Department of Political Science and International Relations, we congratulate Assist. Prof. Sümeyye Kaya Uyar and Res. Assist. Mustafa Yıldırım and wish them success in their academic endeavors.
