Zeynep Atalay

Zeynep Atalay is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Saint Mary’s College of California. A political sociologist, her research examines civil society, globalization, and neoauthoritarian politics with a regional focus on Turkey and a substantive emphasis on Islamic civil society, faith-based NGOs, and gender governance. Her work traces how civil society is reshaped under hybrid and authoritarian regimes, including the ways religious and conservative actors mobilize global infrastructures, from international law to NGO networks, to advance non-liberal agendas. Her publications have appeared in journals such as Current Sociology, Critical Sociology, Global Change, Peace & Security, and Journal of Philanthropy. An interview with the International Sociological Association discussing her research on neoauthoritarianism and civil society can be found here.

She holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Maryland, College Park, and previously served as a Visiting Scholar at the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, Stanford University.  At Saint Mary’s, she teaches courses on global sociology, migration, and nonprofit/NGO studies.