Learn More
Important Dates
February 01, 2023
Announcement of the Balkan Studies Congress
March 15, 2023
Deadline for abstract submission
March 31, 2023
Announcement of accepted abstracts
Maj 31, 2023
Deadline for full paper submission
July 01, 2023
Announcement of accepted papers
September 18, 2023
Announcement of the Congress schedule
September 01-03, 2023
Implementation of the Congress
February 28, 2024
Publication of selected papers
Frequently Asked Questions

Who can participate in the Congress?

Master’s students, doctoral students, or anyone who has completed their master’s and doctorate degrees  can apply to the congress.

Is it possible to participate in the congress with more than one paper?

Yes, one may participate in the congress with more than one paper, provided that these papers comply with the announced subjects. However, one author may present a maximum of two papers at the congress.

 

Are undergraduate students able to submit papers to the congress?

No. Undergraduate students may only participate in the congress as audience members.

What do we need to do to become an audience member?

Anyone who meets the conditions (i.e., transportation, accommodations) can participate in the audience regardless of whether or not they have an academic education. Please note, the congress provides no support for audience members.

 

What will be the criteria for the papers that will be presented (graph properties, etc.)?

The relevant parts of the site state the features that will be considered for the papers at the Balkan Studies Congress. Other unmentioned issues are the conditions that an academic paper must meet. On this point, support for papers can be obtained from academicians or people who are knowledgeable in regard to academic writing.

What is the fee for participating in the Congress, and what kinds of opportunities will be provided to the participants?

Participating in the Congress is free. Participants’ accommodations, breakfasts, and dinners will be covered by the Symposium’s organizing committee. A free tour of the city will be offered to the Congress participants after the Congress sessions have been completed. Transportation to the Congress will be at the participants’ own expense (not covered).

 

Will sending papers to the Congress be possible in a foreign language?

The congress will accept papers and presentations in English and Turkish.

 

ABOUT
Balkan Studies Congress

The Balkan Studies Congress is an international congress organized for the purposes of encouraging interdisciplinary studies in the field of social sciences and of contributing to qualified and original academic output.

The Balkan Studies Congress aims to increase the quality of postgraduate studies by allowing for versatile communication and experience to be transferred to young academicians and to increase academic interaction and activity within the region and with Turkey. It aims to contribute to developing a common language and method by encouraging interdisciplinary approaches in order to overcome the difficulties with the qualified academic output of the states and societies trying to recover from the effects of the wars experienced in the Western Balkans after 1990 and that have many troubled areas ahead of them.

The Congress is planned to take place in cities such as Skopje, Istanbul, Sarajevo, Tirana, and Vienna. The Congress, which will visit one university and city each year, will also collaborate with non-governmental organizations that perform studies in this field. The Congress offers researchers at various universities in the Balkans, especially those in the Western Balkans and Turkey, who are conducting or have completed postgraduate studies in the last three years related to the Balkans the privilege of exchanging and enriching ideas by presenting their studies to experienced academicians or academician candidates.

The Congress applies the blind peer review system; the abstracts and full texts that are submitted will be accepted after being evaluated by reviewers who are experts in their field. The papers chosen at the end of the Congress will be published by the Fettah Efendi Association in order to admit the presentations taking place at the Congress to the scientific world

Boards

Honorary Board of the Congress

Balkan Studies Foundation President, Dr.Sevba Abdula

Istanbul Medeniyet University, Rector, Prof.Dr. Gülfettin Çelik

Association Ilmi Etüdler, President, Assoc.Prof.Abdülkadir Macit

Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities President, Abdullah Eren

Organizing Committee

Assist. Prof. Dr. Bujamin Bela – Mother Teresa University (President)

Dr. Sevba Abdula – Balkan Studies Foundation

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Faruk Bal – Istanbul Medeniyet University

Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Köroğlu – Istanbul University

Assist. Prof. Dr. Serdar Serdaroğlu- International Balkan University

Dr. Sedad Bešlija –  University of Sarajevo

Dr. Agron Islami -Institute of History “Ali Hadri”- Prishtina

Dr. Irena Kolaj Ristanovič – University of Belgrade 

Erkan Girişit – Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities

Mustafa Sacid Öztürk – Balkan Studies Foundation

Semran Murtezani – Balkan Studies Foundation

Scientific Committee of the Congress

Prof. Dr. Ali Pajaziti, South East European University, North Macedonia

Prof. Dr. Erkan Erdemir, University of New York-Tirana, Albania

Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Kaya, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Turkey

Prof. Dr. Hamdi Genç, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Turkey

Prof. Dr. Alim Yılmaz, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Turkey

Prof. Dr. Musa Musai, State University of Tetovo, North Macedonia

Prof. Dr. Qufli Osmanı, State University of Tetovo, North Macedonia

Prof. Dr. Gültekin Yıldız, Istanbul University, Turkey

Prof. Dr. Ekrem Demirli, Istanbul University, Turkey

Prof. Dr. Murteza Bedir, Istanbul University, Turkey

Prof. Dr. Lütfi Sunar, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Turkey

Assoc. Prof. Ilir Kalemaj, University of New York-Tirana, Albania

Assoc. Prof. Juna Miluka, University of New York-Tirana, Albania

Assoc. Prof. Lindita Latifi, University of New York-Tirana, Albania

Assoc. Prof. Ali Erken, Marmara University,, Turkey

Assoc. Prof. Mevludin İbishi, International Balkan University, North Macedonia

Assoc. Prof. İsmail Hakkı Kadı, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Turkey

Assoc. Prof. Tutgay Anar, Istanbul Medeniyet Universityi, Turkey

Assoc. Prof. Hacı Kara, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Turkey

Assoc. Prof. Zahit Atçıl, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Turkey

Assoc. Prof. Abdurrahman Atçıl, Sabancı University, Turkey

Assoc. Prof. Şener Bilal, International Balkan University, North Macedonia

Assoc. Prof. Abdülkadir Macit, Kocaeli University, Turkey

Assoc. Prof. Ertuğrul Karakuş, Kırklareli University, Turkey

Assoc. Prof. İbrahim Halil Üçer, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Turkey

Assoc. Prof. Alim Arlı, Istanbul Technical University, Turkey

Assoc. Prof. Yunus Uğur, Marmara University, Turkey

Assist. Prof. Bujamin Bela, Mother Teresa University, North Macedonia

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Armend Memedi- INSTITUTE OF HISTORY “ALI HADRI”- PRISHTINA-Kosovo

Dr. Sevba Abdula, ettah Efendi Association, North Macedonia

Assist. Prof. Plarent Ruka, University of New York-Tirana, Albania

Assist. Prof. Mesut Malik Yavuz, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Turkey

Assist. Prof. Mehmet Uğur Ekinci, SETA, Turkey

Assist. Prof. Murat Aliu, Mother Teresa University, North Macedonia

Assist. Prof. Süleyman Güder, Istanbul University, Turkey

Assist. Prof. Drita Memedi, State University of Tetovo, North Macedonia

Assist. Prof. Besa Sejdiu, South East European University, North Macedonia

Assist. Prof. Petar Todorov, INSTITUTE OF NATIONAL HISTORY – SKOPJE, North Macedonia

Assist. Prof. Agron İslami, INSTITUTE OF HISTORY “ALI HADRI”- PRISHTINA, Kosovo

Assist. Prof. Fation Shabani, Ibn Haldun University, Turkey

Assist. Prof. Kadir Temiz, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Turkey

Assist. Prof. İzzettin As, Kırklareli University, Turkey

Assist. Prof. İbrahim Zeyd Gerçik, Marmara Üniversitesi, Turkey

Assist. Prof. Ahmet Lökçe, Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Turkey

Assist. Prof. Deniz Memedi, Mother Teresa University, North Macedonia

Assist. Prof. Sedad Beslija, University of Sarejevo, Bosna-Hercegovina

Assist. Prof. Irena Kolaj Ristanović, University of Belgrade, Serbia

RULES FOR WRITING

RULES FOR WRITING

Manuscripts submitted to the Balkan Studies Congress (the full text of the paper) must not have been previously published nor currently presented for publication anywhere.

full text and other proceedings must be sent through the congress application system.bsc.congress.gen.tr The abstract should be between 200 and 300 words in length.

The full text should contain no information about the author anywhere. If any information is found in the full text that would identify the author, the text will be eliminated without being subjected to the peer review as it does not comply with the blind review policies of the Balkan Studies Congress.

The study should contain between 4,000 to 8,000 words.

The full text must be submit in Microsoft Word format by Maj 31, 2023. Texts uploaded in PDF format will not be accepted.

Full texts not prepared in accordance with the Rules of Writing of the Balkan Studies Congress will be rejected without being sent to the reviewers.

The articles to be submitted to the Balkan Studies Congress should be written in The Microsoft Word program with at least 2.5 cm margins, and the entire text should be written in Times New Roman font, font size has to be 12 and 1.5 line spacing. The name of the article should be written in capital letters, bold font and size 14, while the subtitles should be written in lowercase font and size 12.

Tables and tables should be numbered sequentially. Footnotes for tables should be added just below the table body and should be indicated in lowercase. Care should be taken to use as few tables as possible. The data presented in the tables should be avoided to match the data presented in the text.

Footnotes, abstracts, bibliographies, tables, etc. should be completed before the article is delivered.

In the introduction part of the article, the subject, thematic, temporal and spatial boundaries of the article should be specified. Also, it should include information such as the importance of the article, the space it fills in the field, the new perspective it brings, and the information it corrects. In addition, the used methods and sources, the main claim and the side claims supporting it should also be included.

The full texts that have been submitted after assessing the abstract will be subjected to a preliminary examination by the Regulatory Board in terms of form and content, after which it will be sent to the reviewers. The following decisions may be given for the studies in line with the reports coming from the reviewers:

  • Acceptable in its current state.
  • Can be accepted into the Congress after correcting the issues stated in the review evaluation.

APA 7th edition will be used as the article reference system.

MATTERS TO CONSIDER WHEN PRESENTING THE PAPER

Holding a successful and efficient Balkan Studies Congress depends on the contents of the papers as well as the successfulness of their presentations. Presenting papers in order, with discipline, on time, and with success is very important. The following guidelines have been created to help you with your presentation.

Session and Paper Durations

1) The 1st Balkan Studies Congress will consist of 4-5 announced sessions, each lasting 90-100 minutes.

2) A total of 15 minutes will be allowed for each presentation. Strict compliance with this duration is of utmost importance. The functioning of the symposium according to schedule depends on complying with these durations.

3) The time remaining after papers have been presented will be used for evaluations, comments, criticisms, and answering questions from the audience.

Meeting

4) One chairperson will lead each session. The chairperson will be in the hall prior to the session and will meet the speakers who will make a presentation. Each participant must be in the hall 10 minutes prior to the session and must check their presentation.

Presentation and Presentation Materials

5) The presentation must be carefully prepared so that it can be completed within the allowed time.

6) Only the main points of the paper that have been prepared in the presentation should be discussed. Details can be read from the proceedings book, or further discussions with relevant stakeholders can be continued during the intermission after the presentation.

7) Each hall will have a projector and a computer for the presentations. Because these computers are the ones to be used for the presentations, the presentation must be uploaded to the computer in the respective hall in advance (e.g., the morning of the day of the presentation). Hall attendants may be consulted for support on technical issues related to the presentation.

8) Using short sentences (2-4 words) and a large font size (at least 24 point) on the slides is important in terms of following up the presentation.

9) A maximum of 15 slides should be prepared for a 15-minute talk. Make sure the presentation can be completed within 15 minutes by experimenting beforehand. A sample structure for an oral presentation is given below:

CONGRESS TOPICS

The Congress will be able to cover all sub-disciplines of the social sciences focused on the Balkans region. Some of the topics to be addressed at the congress may appear as but are not limited to the following:

POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

    li>Balkan Politics

  • Secularization and Religion-State Relations in the Balkans
  • The European Union and the Balkans
  • Global Powers and the Balkans: China, Russia, EU, & USA
  • Current Issues in International Relations and the Balkans
  • Turkey and the Balkans

HISTORY

  • Balkan History in the Classical Era
  • Balkan History in the Modern Era
  • European History and the Balkans
  • Ottoman History and the Balkans
  • Historiography in the Balkans

ECONOMY

  • Economic History and Thought in the Balkans
  • Economic Theory and Politics
  • The Economy of the European Union and the Balkans
  • The Balkan Economy
  • The Economy of Balkan Countries
  • International Economic Policies and the Balkans

ISLAMIC SCIENCES

  • The History of Religions and Sects
  • Hadiths
  • Islamic Law
  • Kalam
  • Mysticism
  • Tafsir
  • Islamic Scholars in the Balkans

SOCIOLOGY

  • Social Theory
  • Social Structure and Change
  • Civil Societies and Social Movements in the Balkans
  • Religious Formations and Structures in the Balkans
  • Balkan Sociology
  • Identities in the Balkans
  • New Social Movements in the Balkans

LITERATURE

  • Contemporary Balkan Literature
  • Literature and Language Theory
  • Comparative Literature

MEDIA-COMMUNICATION STUDIES

  • Media Studies in the Balkans
  • Digital Media in the Balkans
  • Intercultural Communication
  • Political Culture and Media
  • The New Media and Digital Culture
  • Global Communication and Social Change
  • Communication and Ethics

LAW

  • Philosophy and Methodology of Law
  • History of Law
  • Public Law
  • Private Law
  • EU Law
  • Current Legal Issues in Balkan Countries
  • Human Rights