Merve Erdilmen

Postdoctoral Fellow at the Montréal Centre for International Studies

M.P.S. (McGill), Ph.D. (McGill)

Merve Erdilmen is a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)-funded Postdoctoral Fellow at the Montréal Centre for International Studies (CERIUM). Her research examines forced migration, humanitarianism, and gender politics, with a focus on how refugees and local actors shape global governance. Merve’s work has appeared in Third World Quarterly, Global Studies Quarterly, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Refugee Survey Quarterly, and International Feminist Journal of Politics, among others.

Merve completed her doctoral studies in the Department of Political Science with Gender Studies Specialization at McGill University and was a research associate at GLOBALCIT at the European University Institute. She holds an MA in Political Science at McGill University and BA in philosophy and sociology at the Middle East Technical University and Sciences Po Paris undergraduate studies.

Merve joined LERRN in the summer of 2019 to support research project on the localization of humanitarian assistance in Tanzania.

“I was very keen on becoming involved with LERRN because I believe that there is always a great deal of things that we can gain from the collaboration, recognizing local histories and knowledge, and encouraging the refugees and various humanitarian actors’ participation in knowledge production and policymaking processes. LERRN’s commitment to genuine collaboration between partners, researchers, and refugees puts it in an exceptional position to realize what I have been interested in doing.

LERRN has given me a unique opportunity to have experience in observing the strengths and needs of local and international humanitarian actors in Tanzania, developing equal and ethical research partnership, conducting fieldwork, and being a part of an international team. My research placement has also led me to translate my theoretical training into practical use, which I particularly find essential for my professional development.”

Recent Publications

October 1, 2026

New Publication: Rethinking Feminist Alliances: Avoiding Feminism, but Advancing Gender Equality Within Refugee Communities?

We are pleased to share a newly published article by Merve Erdilmen in International Feminist Journal of Politics. The article examines how Syrian women and …

November 5, 2025

Against the Charge of Charity: Refugee-led Organisations, Localisation and Decolonising Humanitarianism

by Merve Erdilmen, published in Third World Quarterly This study sheds light on the often overlooked relations between local actors in the localisation of humanitarian assistance. …

March 12, 2025

New Publication: Through the Localization Looking Glass: Seeing Subaltern Power in the Refugee Regime

We are thrilled to announce the release of the article titled “Through the Localization Looking Glass: Seeing Subaltern Power in the Refugee Regime” by Merve …

: Erdilmen, M. (2025). “,”* Third World Quarterly, 46(13): 1543-1564.

��Best paper award, Political Studies Association (PSA), Turkish Politics Group, 2023

Second prize, McGill Refugee Research Group Graduate Student Essay Award, 2023

2026-2028 Canada Postdoctoral Research Award, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC),��Proposal received score of 29/30

2025-2027 Postdoctoral Fellowship,��Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQSC) (Rank 1 in Committee 6D, Group 1)

2025 Postdoctoral Bridge Grant,��European International Studies Association (EISA)

2023-2024 Doctoral Research Scholarship, Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQSC) (Rank 1 in Committee 6D, Group 2)

2023 Dissertation Writing Scholarship, CÉRIUM,��Université de Montréal

2023 Support Grant, American Political Science Association (APSA) Comparative Politics Section

2022 Research Fellowship, Forced Migration and Refugee Studies: Networking and Knowledge Transfer (FFVT)
: Erdilmen, M. (2026). “”&�Բ��;International Feminist Journal of Politics, 1-23.

Erdilmen, M. (2025). “”*&�Բ��;Third World Quarterly, 46(13): 1543-1564.

Erdilmen, M., Milner, J., and Bradley, M. (2025). “,”&�Բ��;Global Studies Quarterly, 5(1)

Erdilmen, M.(2024).“,”&�Բ��;Forced Migration Review, Issue 74.

Bradley, M., and Erdilmen, M. (2023). “,”&�Բ��;Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 49(9): 2332-2354.

Bradley, M., Madokoro, L., Erdilmen, M., and Chanco, C. (2022). “,”&�Բ��;Refugee Survey Quarterly, 41(2): 159-195.

Kayran, E. and Erdilmen, M. (2020). “,”&�Բ��;Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 47(13), 2855-2876.
: Erdilmen, M. (Forthcoming, 2026). “Humanitarianism and Migration.” In The Routledge Companion to Humanitarian Action (2nd Edition). Routledge. Edited by Will Plowright and Nonhlanhla Dube.

Chabot, R. and Erdilmen, M. (2023). “”. In The Politics of Silence, Voice and the In-Between: Exploring Gender, Race and Insecurity from the Margins. Edited by Aliya Khalid, Georgina Holmes, and Jane Parpart. London: Routledge.
: Erdilmen, M. (2023). “,” Policy brief no. 03.23.23. Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, Houston, Texas.

Erdilmen, M. (2021). “,” International Organization for Migration (IOM): Brussels.

Erdilmen, M. and Sosthenes, W. (2020). “Opportunities and Challenges for Localization of Humanitarian Action in Tanzania,”&�Բ��;The Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN) Working Papers 8.

Erdilmen, M. and Honohan, I. (2020). “,”&�Բ��;Global Citizenship Observatory (GLOBALCIT) Policy Briefs, 2020/2. European University Institute: Florence.

Erdilmen, M. (2019). “Durable Solutions and Humanitarian Development Nexus,”&�Բ��;The Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN) Working Papers 2.

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Recent Publications