When I decided on the topic for my doctoral thesis ("Criminal liability on the basis of preparatory acts in the context of pre-displacement of criminal liability"), my supervisor said: "If you want to study this topic, you should stay in Germany for a long time and improve your German". He was right. Despite the importance of the topic, neither a dissertation nor a habilitation has yet been written on it in Turkey. Furthermore, the topic has not been dealt with in Turkish academic articles. In German-speaking countries, however, several dissertations and habilitations, monographs and articles have been published on the subject since the early 1900s, especially since 2000. Nevertheless, it is an exception that a Turkish criminal law expert comes to Austria to do research. At least I only know of one Turkish colleague who conducted research on his doctoral thesis in Austria before me. The reason for this is that Turkish researchers traditionally carry out most of their doctoral research in Germany and, to a certain extent, in Italy. Incidentally, I spent more than a year in Berlin after my time in Vienna. If you do research in criminal law in Turkey and can speak German and have also done research outside Germany, that's an advantage. Thanks to my "Vienna days", I can now also say "other words".
Vienna as first choice
The second reason is more personal. When I analyzed the possibilities of doing research in Austria, I didn't have to think twice about trying to do research in Vienna. Vienna was the first city in Europe I visited as a tourist in 2016. The experience of living in Istanbul made me a big city person. Vienna is one of my favorite cities, "primus inter pares". The beauty, which appeals to the aesthetic sensibility; the culture - the opportunities for art; the high quality of life despite living in a big city; the coffee house culture that I know from Istanbul... In my experience, Vienna is a city where you can feel at home.
Ernst Mach-worldwide scholarship
From 01.09.2021 to 30.11.2021 I did research with Ernst Mach-wordlwide with Prof. Dr. Alexander Tipold at the University of Vienna. I would especially like to thank him for giving me the opportunity to do research in Vienna and to deal with my questions on the dissertation topic. I would also like to thank the OeAD for the support that made writing this dissertation possible.
Pandemic and successes
First of all, I can simply say that the time in Vienna was very useful for me and made me very happy, but one negative event was the pandemic. The pandemic precautions have made both my travel plans and my research a complicated endeavor. During my time here, I read German intensively for the first time, completed an article and gave a presentation. And I also had time for sightseeing. I went to Graz and Linz for the first time and briefly visited another city that I really like - the golden city of Prague. In Vienna, I spent a lot of time in the library and had routines, such as going for a walk on the Ringstrasse in the evening, spending time in my favorite cafés or listening to music in the university garden when it wasn't too cold.
Completion of the doctoral thesis and upcoming habilitation
I have now successfully completed my doctoral thesis. Now I've earned a break before preparing for my habilitation. I gained my first research experience abroad in Vienna. I think it was my good fortune that I was able to gain this initial experience in such a wonderful city. My supervisor and the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology at the University of Vienna were a great help to me. I was back in Vienna in 2022 and would also like to return here for my habilitation. I have grown so fond of Vienna that I feel just as much at home here as I do in Istanbul.
CV
Erdi Yetkin was born in Istanbul in 1991. He worked as a lawyer for five years before spending more than four years as a research assistant at the Chair of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Law of Dr. Barış Erman at Yeditepe University (Istanbul/Turkey). He is interested in criminal law from both a dogmatic and practical point of view. For this reason, he completed his doctorate in the field of criminal law at Istanbul University under Prof. Dr. Adem Sözüer. He defended his dissertation on 24.11.2023 and was awarded the title of Doctor of Public Law. The dissertation was also published in the form of a book. He is currently a candidate for a position as assistant professor.
Link:
Dissertation