Yasir Gökçe

Dr. iur. YASIR GÖKCE obtained his Ph.D. from Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, with a focus on international law governing the use of force. He served as an In-house Legal Counsel in the International Law Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey for several years, providing legal opinions for various disputes in which Turkey was involved before foreign courts. During his tenure at the Ministry, he also served as a diplomat in Vietnam, Egypt, and Uzbekistan. Both before and after his tenure, he worked as a practicing attorney. His articles on international law were published by several esteemed peer reviewed journals including but not limited to the Cambridge Journals.

Dr. Gökçe obtained an MPA degree from Harvard University, an LL.M. degree from Ankara University and LL.B. degree from Bilkent University. He currently resides in Germany, where he is pursuing research and studies, amongst others, in international human rights law, while also serving as the Director at instituDE.

Opinions

From Multilateralism to Power Politics: U.S. Trade Agreements and the Weakening of the WTO

January 29, 2026

One further step taken by the United States to undermine the financial frameworks associated with the WTO is the instrumentalization of international law itself to that end. This development is particularly striking because it involves leveraging the very legal mechanisms that were originally designed to construct and safeguard the institutional foundations upon which the WTO rests.

When Secrecy Fails: How Top Secret Communications Have Become Vulnerable to Espionage

October 29, 2025

When Dominic Cummings, former chief adviser to Boris Johnson, claimed that China had compromised the system used to transfer Britain’s most secret government data, it was more than a political bombshell — it was a reminder of how fragile the world’s most secure communication networks really are. According to Cummings, Beijing obtained “vast amounts” of classified information over several years, including “Strap” material, the UK’s highest level of secrecy.

Op-Ed: The Perils of AI-Driven Policing in Turkey

August 27, 2025

In recent years, Turkey has embarked on a sweeping integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into law enforcement and justice systems. From automated traffic enforcement to predictive criminal analytics, these systems promise efficiency—but at what cost to civil liberties, transparency, and the rule of law?

Silent Fronts: How Iran and Israel Combine Missiles and Malware

June 27, 2025

As tensions between Israel and Iran have escalated across military and political dimensions, a quieter but critical component has re-emerged: cyber operations. Over the past month, both countries have used digital tools alongside conventional weapons—not as decisive game-changers, but as supplements to broader military strategies.

Zero-Day Attacks and Cyber Warfare in Netflix’s Zero Day: A Legal Perspective

April 7, 2025

In cybersecurity terms, a “zero-day” attack refers to an exploit that takes advantage of a previously unknown vulnerability in software, hardware, or network systems before developers can issue a patch or fix. These attacks are particularly dangerous because they leave targets defenseless, often leading to severe consequences. The Netflix series Zero Day borrows this terminology to depict a large-scale cyberattack that cripples U.S. infrastructure, exposing the vulnerabilities of modern states in the face of cyber warfare.

Almanya’da Federal Seçimler ve Türkiye’ye Etkileri

February 24, 2025

23 Şubat’ta gerçekleşen Almanya Federal Seçimleri, ülkenin siyasi manzarasında önemli bir dönüm noktasını temsil ediyor. Bir zamanlar Angela Merkel’in partisi olan, su an liderliğini Friedrich Merz’in yaptığı Birlik Partileri (CDU/CSU), oyların %28,5'ini alarak en güçlü parti olarak öne çıktı. Aşırı sağın temsilcisi AfD ise %20,5 oy oranıyla rekor bir sonuç elde ederek ikinci parti konumuna yükseldi.

Videos

ZERO DAY: Can a Cyberattack Start a Real War?

April 14, 2025

Yasir Gökçe

Haşim Tekineş

by Haşim Tekineş and Yasir Gökçe, published on 14 April 2025

In this video, we explore the chilling reality of cyberwarfare through the lens of Netflix’s new thriller Zero Day, starring Robert De Niro. We dive into how international law treats cyberattacks, whether they can trigger the right to self-defense, and what the rules are when the battlefield is no longer physical.

Transnational Repression: Weaponizing Financial Systems

September 25, 2024

Yasir Gökçe

Haşim Tekineş

by Dr. Yasir Gökçe, Haşim Tekineş, Mayra Russo and Sara Kezia Heinonen, published on 25 September 2024

In this episode, Dr. Yasir Gökçe, Mayra Russo, Sara Kezia Heinonen and Haşim Tekineş discussed our report published in August on weaponizing financial systems by Turkey against its opponents. The co-authors of the report shared more details over this abuse of Turkey.

How to Tackle Cyberattacks Against Space Infrastructure

April 3, 2024

Yasir Gökçe

by Yasir Gökçe, published on 3 April 2024

Dr. Yasir Gökçe and Brianna Bace have discussed the legal and political dimensions of cyberattacks against space infrastructures and their recent academic article on this issue.

PERSECUTORY CONFISCATION AMOUNTING TO CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN TURKEY

December 24, 2023

Yasir Gökçe

by Yasir Gökçe, published on 24 December 2023

instituDE Director Dr. Yasir Gokce eloborated on the widespread and systematic nature of property rights violations in Turkey as a part of CrimesAgainstHumanity targeting Gülen Movement, with reference to the recent instituDE report thereon.

İsrail-Hamas Arasındaki Siber Savaşlar

October 30, 2023

Yasir Gökçe

By Yasir Gökçe, published on 30 October 2023

Hukuk Günlüğü'nün yeni bölümünde Yasir Gökçe İsrail-Hamas arasında devam etmekte olan savaş çerçevesinde icra edilen siber operasyonları, tarafların buna ilişkin kapasitesini anlattı.

Nijer'e Askeri Müdahalenin Hukuki Meşruiyeti

August 9, 2023

Haşim Tekineş

Ömer Güler

Yasir Gökçe

by Haşim Tekineş, Ömer Güler and Yasir Gökçe, published on 9 August 2023

DışıİçiBir'de bu hafta Haşim Tekineş, Dr. Yasir Gökçe ve Ömer Güler Nijer'de yaşanan darbenin ardından yaşanan son gelişmeleri, ECOWAS ülkelerinin Nijer'e silahlı müdahalede bulunma olasılığını ve sözkonusu müdahalenin uluslararası hukuka uygun olup olmayacağını ele aldılar.