ProfessorIhsan Yilmaz

Professor Ihsan Yilmaz is Research Professor of Political Science and International Relations, and Chair of Islamic Studies at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation (ADI), Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. He is currently also a Visiting Professor at Oxford’s Regents Park College and a Non-Resident Senior Researcher at the European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS) in Brussels.

A leading scholar on authoritarianism, transnationalism, civilizational populism, digital authoritarianism, and political Islam, his recent research explores the diffusion of authoritarian practices, weaponization of civilizational narratives, and the emotional and cognitive impact of disinformation in democratic and hybrid regimes.

Previously, he served as Professor of Political Science at Istanbul Fatih University (2008–2016), and lectured in law, politics, and Islamic studies at SOAS, University of London (2001–2008). He was a fellow at the Centre for Islamic Studies, University of Oxford (1999–2001), where he researched unofficial Islamic law and Muslim political participation in the UK.

Recognised as the Australian Research Leader in Religion by The Australian’s Research Magazine in both 2023 and 2024, Professor Yilmaz continues to shape multiple fields.  His research also addresses pressing global challenges, such as digital governance, diaspora politics, and state-sponsored disinformation. These outputs have significantly contributed to both academic inquiry and policy discourse across diverse geopolitical contexts. He continues to participate in academic debates on democracy, authoritarianism, digital technoligies, sharp power, transnational repression, and Muslim politics in the 21st century.

Professor Yilmaz is also a prominent public intellectual. His research has been featured by international media including CNN International, Deutsche Welle, Al Jazeera, ABC, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. He has contributed commentary to Turkish and English-language media and actively engages with the public on social media, with a significant following.

His scholarship is distinguished by a multidisciplinary approach that integrates political science, international relations, media studies, and digital humanities. Over his career, he has made significant contributions to political science, political sociology, and socio-legal studies, with pioneering interdisciplinary research. He has led and collaborated on major projects investigating the emotional mobilisation of populist rhetoric, strategic digital information operations, civilizationalism as authoritarian soft and sharp power, and the political behavior of diasporic communities. His comparative work spans Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, India, Australia, UK, USA, and beyond.

Professor Yilmaz has published extensively on topics such as Muslim legal pluralism, authoritarian populism, diasporic politics, and religious nationalism. He has published with leading academic publishers such as Cambridge University Press, Routledge, and Palgrave Macmillan—presses renowned for their impact in political science, international relations, and political sociology. He has also consistently published in high-ranking journals across these disciplines, meeting and advancing their scholarly standards.

His recent work expands this legacy by critically examining how authoritarian regimes, through populist civilizational discourse and digital tools, reshape citizenship, state-society relations, and political participation in both majority- and minority-Muslim contexts. His research on authoritarianism and citizenship—showcased in his 2021 Cambridge University Press book—examines competing civilizationalist ruling regimes and nation-building projects, and has been widely recognised for advancing the understanding of civilizational authoritarian dynamics affecting majority populations as well as ethnic and religious minorities.

His most recent books include "Weaponizing Civilizationalism for Authoritarianism" (Palgrave, 2025), "Reception of Soft and Sharp Powers" (Palgrave, 2025), and "Islamist Parties and Power in Democratic Nation-States" (Palgrave, 2024). His work appears in high-impact journals such as Political Research Quarterly, Global Policy, Contemporary Politics, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, and Journal of Information Technology & Politics.

His groundbreaking 2005 book, "Muslim Laws, Politics and Society in Modern Nation States" (Routledge), remains influential in the study of unofficial Islamic legal pluralism. His work on unofficial religious laws in secular regimes, first documented in a Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies article, laid the foundation for this widely cited book.