I write and teach about twentieth-century international history, and I am particularly interested in the connections between international relations and political economy. Much of my published work so far focuses on interactions between interwar Soviet and Turkish elites, whose statist convergence had much to do with the uneven development of global capitalism.

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I received a BA in history from Washington University in St. Louis (2004) and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania (2012). I first visited Russia and Turkey in 2002, and I have spent the majority of the last two decades living in one or other of the two countries. 

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Between 2013 and 2017, I worked in the history department at the European University at St. Petersburg, including for two years as the department chair. Since 2017, I have taught in the international relations department at Bilkent University in Ankara.

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Contact: samhirst[at]bilkent.edu.tr