Dr Bora Kanra
Bora Kanra obtained his PhD in Political Science and International Relations at the Australian National University (ANU). His thesis is titled “Deliberating Across Difference: Bringing Social Learning into the Theory and Practice of Deliberative Democracy in the Case of Turkey”.
Kanra’s research interest lies at the intersection of theoretical, social-historical and empirical approaches within the scope of political theory and political science. In political theory, he works on formulating a new deliberative framework, entitled Structured Social Learning. This framework outlines a plan for social learning within an institutionally designed framework separated from the realm of decision-making and in so doing moves beyond the existing theories of deliberative democracy.
Kanra also deals with Islam and democracy relationship and interested in developing a comparative understanding of the relationship between Western and non-Western social and political concepts. Kanra, in his study in Turkey, for the first time, clearly mapped out the points of convergence and divergence between Islamic and secular groups. In the context of the post 9/11 world, his analysis yielded significant clues as to how to reconcile fundamental value differences between these groups.
Publications
2005 "Islam, Democracy and Dialog – The Case of Turkey", Government and Opposition. (40/4), pp. 515-540.
2002 "How to Straighten A Crooked Timber”, Culture and Communication (4/2).
2000 “Recognising the Different: A Sense of Recognition in the Politics of SBS”; Inter-Cultural Studies, 1/1.