Hidayet Çilkoparan is a PhD candidate at the Department of International Relations, Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara. He has vast diplomatic experience gained throughout his employment at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Ankara and several duty stations abroad. He worked in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna as an international staff member from 2006 to 2012. He received his Master’s degree (MSc) from METU in October 2018. His master thesis is on European Security Challenges and Transatlantic Relations.