D.Y. (Yavuz) Tuyloglu, PhD

How middle powers shape the global energy transition (MidEner)
Funder: Dutch Research Council (NWO), SSH Open Competition XS 2026
NWO file number: 406.XS.26.01.137
Grant ID (DOI): https://doi.org/10.61686/UYPVK73684
Principal Investigator: Dr Yavuz Tuyloglu
Duration: 1 October 2026 – 30 September 2027

The geopolitics of the energy transition is usually told as a contest between great powers. MidEner asks how the states in between shape it. Middle powers cannot set the rules of the emerging energy order, but their choices on energy security, geopolitics and industrial strategy affect how the transition unfolds in their regions and beyond. These three dimensions are usually studied separately. MidEner examines them together, because for a middle power the trade-offs between them are where strategy is made. Taking Turkey (Türkiye) as its case, the project combines geopolitical mapping, process tracing and network analysis of policy documents and international energy datasets with fieldwork interviews. It develops a framework for studying middle-power agency in the energy transition that can be applied to other cases.