Veli Yadirgi holds a B.A. in Philosophy (King’s College, London), an MSc. in Global Politics (LSE), and a PhD (SOAS). He is the author of the double award-winning book, The Political Economy of Kurdish Question: From the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic (Cambridge University Press, 2017), as well as being the co-editor of The Cambridge History of the Kurds (Cambridge University Press, 2021). Since 2016, he has taught in the Department of Development Studies at SOAS.

His research covers a broad range of issues and areas including the political economy of development; politics of development; comparative politics of the Middle East; development issues facing emerging economies and middle-income countries; Sustainable Development Goals; inequality (specifically, economic, racial and regional inequality); the political economy of colonialism and decolonisation; de-development, indigeneity, and autonomous development; as well as the social, economic and political history of Turkey and of Kurdistan.

Veli has frequently given comment and interviews for media outlets such as BBC World and Sky News. He has delivered talks on his research at universities such as the University of Cambridge, the LSE, Harvard University and Northwestern University. Veli has also delivered briefings and teaching sessions for UNICEF, Médecins Sans Frontières and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).