Authored by Ebru Turhan and Rahime Süleymanoğlu-Kürüm, this article critically examines the gendered dynamics in the field of EU–Turkey studies. It highlights how women scholars have progressively disrupted male-dominated knowledge production in this area while also uncovering persistent gender gaps in authorship, thematic focus, and citation patterns.
The article is a unique collaboration between Ebru Turhan, an expert in EU studies and EU–Turkey relations, and Rahime Süleymanoğlu-Kürüm, a gender studies scholar and the Jean Monnet Chair on Feminist Epistemic Justice in the EU and Beyond (FEJUST). This interdisciplinary partnership enriched the research by combining deep expertise in the study of EU–Turkey relations with a robust feminist theoretical framework.
Using feminist standpoint theory, the authors analyzed 300 peer-reviewed articles published between 1996 and 2020 across 26 Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journals. They reveal that while women have begun to outnumber men in authorship since 2014 and often engage in more theoretically sophisticated work, the integration of women's perspectives remains limited. Gendered disparities are particularly evident in citation patterns and thematic prioritization, with male-dominated topics and citation networks continuing to overshadow contributions by women scholars.
Although initiated before the establishment of FEJUST, this article benefited significantly from the theoretical depth and framework provided by the Jean Monnet Chair on Feminist Epistemic Justice in the EU and Beyond. FEJUST’s emphasis on addressing epistemic injustices and promoting inclusive knowledge production enriched the article’s analytical focus, particularly in its application of feminist standpoint theory to uncover structural inequalities in EU–Turkey studies.
The study aligns closely with FEJUST’s mission to amplify marginalized voices in academia and policymaking. By exposing the underrepresentation of women’s perspectives in a field often perceived as female-dominated, the article underscores the importance of feminist epistemic justice in addressing systemic biases and promoting a more equitable academic landscape. Moreover, it serves as a critical call for integrating feminist insights into EU–Turkey relations, offering valuable lessons for gender-sensitive policymaking both within and beyond the EU.
This research not only contributes to academic discourse but also reinforces FEJUST’s broader objectives of fostering critical reflections and driving transformative change in the study of European politics.
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