Speakers for this event

• MESUT ÖZCAN

  MESUT ÖZCAN

  Director of Diplomacy Academy of MFA

  Mesut Ozcan is currently the Director of Diplomacy Academy of MFA. He serves on the editorial boards of Insight Turkey, Divan and Perceptions journals. He previously lectured at Istanbul Ticaret University’s Department of International Relations and continues to teach at Istanbul Sehir University. Ozcan is the author of three books: Sorunlu Miras Irak (Istanbul: Küre, 2003), Harmonizing Foreign Policy: Turkey, the EU and the Middle East (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008), and Medeniyetler ve Dünya Düzen(ler)i, Mesut Özcan and Muzaffer Şenel (ed), (Istanbul: Klasik, 2010).

  Director of Diplomacy Academy of MFA

• Taha Ozhan

  Taha Ozhan

  Turkish Politician

  Taha Özhan, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission, Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Turkey. Previously, He served as Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister of Turkey. Prior to this, He served as president of Ankara-headquarterd SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research

  Turkish Politician

• Nurşin Güney

  Nurşin Güney

  Professor of international relations and head of International Relations Department at Yildiz University

  Nurşin Ateşoğlu Güney is professor of international relations and head of international relations department at Yıldız Technical University in Istanbul, Turkey. Prof. Güney is also vice president and security and nuclear energy fellow at the Wise Men Center for Strategic Studies (BILGESAM). She contributes to BİLGESAM every month by writing one analysis on security related matters. She has extensively published on Middle East, security studies, American foreign and security policies

  Professor of international relations and...

• Adnan Tabatabai

  Adnan Tabatabai

  Co-founder and CEO of the Germany-based Think-Tank (CARPO)

  Adnan Tabatabai is the co-founder and CEO of the Germany-based think tank CARPO - Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient. As an expert on Iranian affairs, Tabatabai is consulted by institutions of the EU, German Federal Ministries, members of the Bundestag as well as by research institutions and political organizations on Iran-related issues. Tabatabai is author of the book “Morgen in Iran”.z

  Co-founder and CEO of the Germany-based ...

• Wadah Khanfar

  Wadah Khanfar

  President of The Al Sharq Forum

  Wadah Khanfar is the President of the Al Sharq Forum and former Director General of the Al Jazeera Network. He is a board member of the International Crisis Group and Global Editors Network (GEN). Khanfar has been named as one of Foreign Policy’s Top 100 global thinkers of 2011 as well as one of Fast Company’s ‘Most Creative People in Business’ of the year.

  President of The Al Sharq Forum

• Monica Marks

  Monica Marks

  Visiting Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations

  Monica Marks is a Visiting Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and a Rhodes Scholar at St Antony’s College, Oxford, where she is completing her Ph.D. A leading analyst on Islamist politics in Tunisia. Her work has appeared in peer-reviewed academic publications, think tanks including the Brookings Institute and Carnegie Endowment, and more popularly oriented publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Guardian, and Foreign Policy. Her research is currently supported by the IREMAM institute in Aix-en-Provence, France, where she is a Research Fellow. She is currently based in Istanbul and Tunisia, researching Islamist movements and MENA regional politics in Arabic, French, and Turkish.

  Visiting Fellow at the European Council ...

• Yacoob Abba-Omar

  Yacoob Abba-Omar

  Head of Strategy and Communications at the Banking Association of South Africa

  Yacoob Abba Omar is the Head of Strategy and Communications at the Banking Association of South Africa. He graduated with an M.Phil in South African Political Economy through the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. He is currently completing his PhD on ‘Sovereignty and National Identity in South Africa’ through Wits University. From January 2013 to December 2016 he worked at the Mapungubwe Institute (MISTRA), a Johannesburg-based research institute

  Head of Strategy and Communications at t...

• Leonid M. Issaev

  Leonid M. Issaev

  Member at the Scientific Council of the Russian Political Sciences Association (RPSA)

  Leonid M. Issaev is a member at the Scientific Council of the Russian Political Sciences Association (RPSA). He earned a PhD in 2014 from Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He is a Senior Lecturer in the Department for Political Science of the National Research University Higher School of Economics. He has published more than 100 publications in Russian and English

  Member at the Scientific Council of the ...

• Özgür Ünlühisarcıklı

  Özgür Ünlühisarcıklı

  Director of GMF’s office in Ankara

  Özgür Ünlühisarcıklı is the director of GMF’s office in Ankara, Turkey. Prior to joining GMF, he was the manager of the Resource Development Department of the Educational Volunteers Foundation of Turkey. Previously, Ünlühisarcıklı worked as the director of the ARI Movement, a Turkish NGO promoting participatory democracy, and as a consultant at AB Consulting and Investment Services

  Director of GMF’s office in Ankara

• Paolo Magri

  Paolo Magri

  Executive Vice President and Director, Italian Institute for International Political Studies

  Executive Vice President and Director, I...

• Na’eem Jeenah

  Na’eem Jeenah

  Executive Director of the Afro-Middle East Centre

  Na’eem Jeenah is the Executive Director of the Afro-Middle East Centre, a research institute based in Johannesburg, South Africa, that focuses on the Middle East and Africa. Na’eem taught political science at the University of the Witwatersrand. His recent publications include: Pretending democracy: Israel, an ethnocratic state (2012) and (co-edited) The PLO: Critical appraisals from the inside (2014). He also coauthored (with Shamima Shaikh) Journey of discovery: A South African Hajj (2002). Na’eem is sought-after as a commentator on a range of issues regarding the Middle East and North Africa, Political Islam, Islam and Muslims in South Africa.

  Executive Director of the Afro-Middle Ea...

• Sami Atroshi

  Sami Atroshi

  Researcher at University of Duhok, Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies

  Sami Atroshi is a researcher at University of Duhok, Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies, Former Member of Iraqi Parliament (2006-2010), founding member of (Kani) Organization for Coexisting in Duhok/Iraq, a member of the Steering Committee of Center for Peace and Human Security of American University of Kurdistan (AUDK). He is a PH.D student in peace studies in Sudan University of Science and Technology

  Researcher at University of Duhok, Cente...

• M. Akif Kayapınar

  M. Akif Kayapınar

  Assistant professor in political science and International Relations at Istanbul Sehir University since 2009

  M. Akif Kayapınar is an assistant professor in political science and international relations at Istanbul Şehir University since 2009. He completed his PhD at SUNY Binghamton University. His research interests include comparative political theory, comparative politics, and theories of international relations. Recently he has focused on Islamic political thought, with special reference to Ibn Khaldun

  Assistant professor in political science...

• Hakkı Uygur

  Hakkı Uygur

  Deputy Director of İRAM (Iranian Studies Center)

  Hakkı Uygur is the Deputy Director of İRAM (Iranian Studies Center). He was born in Berlin, Germany in 1975. After being graduated from high school in Istanbul, he went to Iran for higher education. He received his master’s degree from IKUI Tehran University in History of Islamic Culture and Civilization. He got his PhD program in Persian Language and Literature from Tehran University in 2015

  Deputy Director of İRAM (Iranian Studie...

• Ranj Alaaldin

  Ranj Alaaldin

  Visiting Fellow, Brookings Institute, Doha

  Visiting Fellow, Brookings Institute, Do...

• Omar Ashour

  Omar Ashour

  Senior Lecturer in Security Studies at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies of University of Exeter

  Omar Ashour is a Senior Lecturer in Security Studies at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies of University of Exeter and an Associate Fellow at Chatham House in London. He is currently working on a book analysing the military tactics and strategies of IS in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Egypt. He specializes in asymmetric armed conflict, Islamist movements, insurgency/counterinsurgency, terrorism studies, and democratization. He is a regular contributor to media outlets including the BBC, Al-Jazeera, Sky News, CNN, al-Arabiya and others and his op-eds are frequently published in many media outlets in seven languages, in over 40 countries. He previously served as a senior consultant for the United Nations on security sector reform, counter-terrorism, and de- radicalization issues. He is the author of The DeRadicalization of Jihadists: Transforming Armed Islamist Movements.

  Senior Lecturer in Security Studies at t...

• Ibrahim Turhan

  Ibrahim Turhan

  Member of Turkish Parliament

  Ibrahim Turhan is a member of Turkish Parliament. He previously served as the Chairman and CEO of the İstanbul Stock Exchange, 2012 - 2015. Mr. Turhan was also a member of the Leaders' Circle as well as the Advisory Board of the Global Economic Symposium organized by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. Prior to these roles, Mr. Turhan served in a number of capacities with the Central Bank of Turkey, including Deputy Governor post

  Member of Turkish Parliament

• Gilbert M. Khadiagala

  Gilbert M. Khadiagala

  Head of Department of International Relations at the University of Witwatersrand

  Gilbert M. Khadiagala is the Jan Smuts Professor of International Relations and Head of Department of International Relations at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. He previously taught comparative politics and international relations in Kenya, Canada, and the United States. Prof. Khadiagala holds a doctorate in international studies from the Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C. . His research focuses on governance, leadership, conflict management

  Head of Department of International Rel...

• Ahmet Uysal

  Ahmet Uysal

  Prof Ahmet Uysal was born in Sekarya, Turkey in 1972. He finished his undergraduate at METU in Sociology department at 1994. He then continued his masters in Political Science at Bilkent University in Ankara. Later on Dr. Uysal conducted research in the Department of Sociology at the Southern Illionis Univerisity in Carbondate Illionis at 1999. He finished his Ph.D. at the same institution in the department of Sociology in 2003

• Hemin Hawrami

  Hemin Hawrami

  Member, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Head of KDP Foreign Relations Office

  Member, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)...

• Omer Aslan

  Omer Aslan

  Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research

  Omer Aslan is an Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Forum, and a researcher at the Institute for Security Sciences at the Turkish National Police Academy (TNPA). He previously worked at the political research department of the Ankara-based SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research. He received his B.A. degree in political science from Bilkent University. After finishing MSc in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, he entered the Ph.D. program in political science at Bilkent University in 2010. Ömer is now a Ph.D. candidate at the same university, currently working on his dissertation in the field of civil-military relations. Among his publications are “A Turkish Muslim Between Islamism and Turkish Nationalism: Seyyid Ahmet Arvasi (1932–88)”, and “‘Unarmed’ we Intervene, Unnoticed we Remain: The Deviant Case of ‘February 28th Coup’ in Turkey “. Research Interests: Military and Politics in the Muslim World, External Actors and Military Coup d’états, Police and Politics.

  Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic R...

• Mohammad Sarmini

  Mohammad Sarmini

  Director general of Jusoor for Studies Center

  Mohammad Sarmini is the director general of Jusoor for Studies Center is an independent institution specialized in publishing information, conducting studies and research concerned with political, social, economic, and legal affairs in the Middle East with a special focus on Syrian affairs.

  Director general of Jusoor for Studies C...

• Vasily Kuznetsov

  Vasily Kuznetsov

  Head of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies

  Vasily Kuznetsov is the head of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies, Institute of Oriental Studies under the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Head of the Centre for Political Systems and Cultures, Faculty of World Politics, Moscow State University. He tries to combine researches in the field of classical Arabic studies to analysis of the current political process in the Arab World

  Head of the Center for Arab and Islamic ...

• Victor Willi

  Victor Willi

  Advisor to the World Economic Forum’s Middle East Practice and the Academic

  Victor Willi is currently an Advisor to the World Economic Forum's Middle East practice and the Academic Director of two interdisciplinary Master programmes at the Graduate Institute in Geneva J. Willi holds a DPhil in History from the University of Oxford, and an MA in Arabic, Islamic Studies and Middle East History from University of Zurich. He is fluent in English, German, Arabic and French

  Advisor to the World Economic Forum’s ...

• Seyed Kazem Sajjadpour

  Seyed Kazem Sajjadpour

  Head, Center for International Research and Education Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Iran

  Head, Center for International Research ...

• Mohammad Affan

  Mohammad Affan

  Training Director at Al-Sharq Forum

  Mohammad Affan is the Training Director at Al-Sharq Forum. A medical doctor by training, Affan obtained his MA degree in Political Science from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at the American University of Cairo (2015). He also holds three post-graduate diplomas: One in “Civil Society and Human Rights”, from the Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences at Cairo University (2010), another one in Political Research and Studies from the Institute of Arab Research and Studies at the Arab League (2012), and the third diploma in Islamic Studies from the Higher Institute for Islamic Studies in Cairo (2012). Among his publications is his book titled: “Wahhabism and the Brotherhood: the conflict on the concept of the state and the legitimacy of power.” Affan is currently pursuing his PhD in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the Exeter Univesity in the UK. His research interests include, Islamism, State-Theory, and Comparative MENA Studies.

  Training Director at Al-Sharq Forum

• Sinan Hatahet

  Sinan Hatahet

  Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research

  Sinan Hatahet is currently a consultant working with a number of think tanks on Syria. His research is concentrated on governance and local councils, anti-radicalization, Islamism, the Kurdish National Movement, and the new regional order in the Middle East. He previously worked as the executive director of the Syrian National Coalition (SC) media office from its creation in late 2012 until September 2014.

  Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Stra...

• Ammar Kahf

  Ammar Kahf

  Co-Founder and Executive Director of OMRAN Center for Studies

  Ammar Kahf is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Omran for Strategic Studies, and a Board Member of the Syrian Forum. He earned his Ph.D at the Interdisciplinary Program for Islamic Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles with a subfield focus on political science, history and sociology. His dissertation research was entitled "Syrian Authoritarianism: Persistence or Change?" His research work focuses on geopolitical political studies, transitional period comparative studies, local governance, and economic development

  Co-Founder and Executive Director of OMR...

• Mariya Petkova

  Mariya Petkova

  Bulgarian journalist

  Mariya Petkova is a Bulgarian journalist covering the Middle East, the Balkans and Eastern Europe. She is currently deputy editor at Al Jazeera English

  Bulgarian journalist

• Galip Dalay

  Galip Dalay

  Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research

  Research director at Al Sharq Forum and senior associate fellow on Turkey and Kurdish Affairs at Al Jazeera Center for Studies. He previously worked as a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin and as a political researcher at SETA Foundation in Ankara. He is a regular contributor to German Marshall Fund of the United States’ on Turkey policy brief series, and a columnist for Middle East Eye.

  Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Stra...

• Saban Kardas

  Saban Kardas

  TOBB University of Economics and Technology, Ankara

  Saban Kardas is the President of ORSAM and a faculty member at the Department of International Relations at TOBB University. He has published scholarly articles and book chapters on Turkish domestic and foreign policies, human rights, energy policies and international security and has been an occasional contributor to Turkish and international media. He has taught classes at Diplomacy Academy, Sakarya University, Police Academy and Turkish Military Academy. He received his doctoral degree in political science from the University of Utah. Dr. Kardas also holds a master’s degree in international relations from the METU in Ankara, and a second master’s degree in European Studies from the Center for European Integration Studies in Bonn, Germany.

  TOBB University of Economics and Technol...

• Usman Muhammad Bugaje

  Usman Muhammad Bugaje

  Usman Muhammad Bugaje, born in Nigeria, earned his PhD in intellectual History of West Africa, graduating in 1991 from Institute of African and Asian Studies, University of Khartoum . From 2007 to 2010 Usman Bugaje was the National Secretary of the Action Congress, one of the major opposition parties in the country. His research interests includes: epistemology and policy issues, especially on education, poverty and good governance

• Jamal Abdullah

  Jamal Abdullah

  Senior Researcher at TRT World

  Jamal Abdullah is currently an Academic Visitor at the Middle East Centre, Saint Antony’s College, University of Oxford in the UK. Before joining the University of Oxford in October 2016, he worked for five years (from May 2011 to May 2016) as Researcher and Head of Gulf Studies Unit at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, part of Al Jazeera Media Network in Doha, Qatar

  Senior Researcher at TRT World

• Tarik M. Yousef

  Tarik M. Yousef

  Director of Brooking Doha Center and Senior fellow

  Tarik M. Yousef is a Senior Fellow in the Global Economy and Development program and the Director of the Brookings Doha Center. His career has spanned the academic world at Georgetown University and the Harvard Kennedy School; the public policy arena at the IMF, the World Bank and more recently the NGO space at Silatech. He has a PhD in economics from Harvard University

  Director of Brooking Doha Center and Sen...

• Basheer Nafi

  Basheer Nafi

  Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research

  Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Forum and Senior Research Fellow at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies. He writes weekly columns for Middle East eye. His research interests include Egypt, Iraq, Political Islam, and Middle Eastern Politics in general.

  Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Stra...

• Resul Serdar Atas

  Resul Serdar Atas

  Director of Programmes and Managing Editor at TRT World

  Resul Serdar Ataş is the Director of Programmes and Managing Editor at TRT World. He is a member of the Euronews Editorial Board on behalf of TRT Network, which is the fourth biggest shareholder of Euronews. He has worked for Al Jazeera Network for about five years, where he served as planning producer, senior producer and the head of the Middle East Desk. He is also presenting a weekly show on Tvnet covering regional affairs.

  Director of Programmes and Managing Edit...

• Yury Barmin

  Yury Barmin

  Consultant whose work focuses on issues Related to the Middle East

  Yury Barmin is a risk consultant whose work focuses on issues related to the Middle East and Russia’s positioning in the region. Mr Barmin holds an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Cambridge. He is an Expert at the Russian International Affairs Council covering the Middle East and North Africa, Moscow’s policy towards the region as well as the conflict in Syria

  Consultant whose work focuses on issues ...

• Ahmet Okumuş

  Ahmet Okumuş

  Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Istanbul Sehir University

  Ahmet Okumuş is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Relations, Istanbul Sehir University. Dr. Okumus received his PhD in political science from Sabanci University. Dr. Okumus is also currently the president of Bilim ve Sanat Vakfi (Foundation for Sciences and Arts). His research interests include contemporary political theory, democratic politics, religion, politics and secularism, theories of modernity and comparative political theory

  Assistant Professor of Political Science...

• Murat Yetkin

  Murat Yetkin

  Murat Yetkin was born in 1959 in Gaziantep. He graduated from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Middle East Technical University. He worked as reporter and news editor in media outlets such as BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle, AFP, Turkish Daily News, Kanal D, NTV and Sabah. Since February 2001, he served as Ankara Correspondent of Radikal daily until the newspaper was closed in 2016. Currently, he is the editor-in-chief of Hürriyet Daily News

• Ali Osman Ozturk

  Ali Osman Ozturk

  Public Diplomacy Coordinator & Chief Advisor to the Turkish Prime Minister

  Ali Osman Öztürk is the Public Diplomacy Coordinator & Chief Advisor to the Turkish Prime Minister. Ali Osman Öztürk received his BA and MA at Istanbul University. He earned his Ph.D. in Public Administration at North Carolina State University (2005). Dr. Öztürk started his administrative career in 2007 serving as the director of Leadership in the Public Sector (LPS) B.A. program, and his academic career as a faculty member at School of Public and International Affairs, North Caroline State University. After moving back to Turkey, he first joined Istanbul Commerce University serving as the director of leadership and entrepreneurship research and application center by mid-2014. Since then, he has been a faculty member in Political Science and Public Administration Department at Istanbul Medipol University. His research has appeared in Social Science Computer Review, Public Administration and Development, Journal of Political Science Education, and Journal of Business Ethics. His research interests include new public management, leadership and entrepreneurship in the public sector, public sector ethics and public sector organizational culture. Dr.Öztürk has been working with Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Prof. Numan Kurtulmuş as a senior advisor since late 2014, and serving as the public diplomacy coordinator of Turkish Prime Ministry since April, 2016.

  Public Diplomacy Coordinator & Chief Adv...

• Thembisa Fakude

  Thembisa Fakude

  Head of Research Relations at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies in Doha

  Thembisa Fakude is the Head of Research Relations at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies in Doha. He holds a masters degree in politics from the university of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is the former Bureau Chief of Al Jazeera Media Network in Southern Africa and the former Chairperson of the Foreign Correspondents Association of Southern Africa. He is also a regular contributor in the Peninsula Newspaper, a leading English daily newspaper in the state of Qatar.

  Head of Research Relations at Al Jazeera...

• Kayhan Barzegar

  Kayhan Barzegar

  Director of the Institute for Middle East Strategic Studies in Tehran

  Barzegar is the Director of the Institute for Middle East Strategic Studies in Tehran. He is also Associate Professor of International Relations and the Chair of the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the Science and Research Branch of the Islamic Azad University. Dr. Barzegar was a Research Fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center. Dr. Barzegar is Editor-in-Chief of Discourse: An Iranian English Quarterly

  Director of the Institute for Middle Eas...

• Nihat Ali Özcan

  Nihat Ali Özcan

  Nihat Ali Özcan, completed his undergraduate studies in the Turkish Military Academy and in Istanbul University Law Faculty. He received his MA and Ph.D from Dokuz Eylul University in İzmir. His doctorate thesis is on the “PKK, (Kurdistan Workers’ Party), it’s history, ideology and methods”. It was published as a book in 1999. He completed his post-doctoral studies in Oxford University Faculty of History

• Mahlatse Mpya

  Mahlatse Mpya

  Mahlatse Mpya is the events and publications coordinator for the Afro-Middle East Centre, based in South Africa

• Amr Darrag

  Amr Darrag

  Executive Board of the Egyptian Freedom and Justice Party (FJP)

  Amr Darrag is a member of the Executive Board of the Egyptian Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) currently operating out of Istanbul, Turkey. He is a founding member of the FJP on whose platform Mohammed Morsi ran for presidency. Darrag served as Egypt’s former Minister of Planning and International Cooperation during the last two months of Mohammed Morsi’s presidency before the military coup.He was elected as Secretary General of the Assembly drafting the 2012 Egyptian Constitution. He used to be a Civil Engineering Professor at Cairo University and he got his Ph.D. from Purdue University, USA 1987. He established and is currently chairing the prominent think tank “The Egyptian Institute for Political and Strategic Studies” based in Istanbul.

  Executive Board of the Egyptian Freedom ...

• Mohamed Okda

  Mohamed Okda

  Political Consultant, focused on the Middle East and Political Islam

  Mohamed Okda is a Political Consultant, focused on the Middle East and Political Islam; active in the issues of interfaith, crisis mediation and assessment, the economics of conflict and religious–secular dialogue. He is also the founder of Insight into Crisis, a conflict advisory.

  Political Consultant, focused on the Mid...

• Luca Bader

  Luca Bader

  Senior Advisor for International Affairs of the Prime Minister of Italy

  Luca Bader is Senior Advisor for International Affairs of the Prime Minister of Italy. 2014- 2016 Chief of Staff of the Foreign Minister of Italy. After finishing undergraduate and postgraduate studies in International Relations at the London School of Economics in 2000, Luca Bader moved to Rome to take up the position of Senior Research Fellow at the Italian Institute of International Affairs (IAI)z

  Senior Advisor for International Affairs...

• Soli Özel

  Soli Özel

  Professor of International Relations at Kadir Has University

  Soli Özel is a professor of International Relations at Kadir Has University in Istanbul and a columnist at Habertürk daily newspaper. He worked as a guest lecturer at Georgetown, Harvard, Tufts and other US universities and has taught at UC Santa Cruz, SAIS, the University of Washington and the Hebrew University. He is also a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations

  Professor of International Relations at ...

• Haldun Yalçınkaya

  Haldun Yalçınkaya

  Haldun Yalçınkaya graduated from Kuleli Military High School and later Turkish Military Academy. During his military service as an officer, he completed his post-graduate studies in International Relations at İstanbul University. After having served more than ten years at the Turkish Military Academy, as of 2013 he became an Associate Professor in International Relations at TOBB University of Economics and Technology

• David Hearst

  David Hearst

  Editor-in-Chief of the Middle East Eye

  David Hearst is the Editor-in-Chief of the Middle East Eye, an independent website based in London covering the Middle East in English and French. He writes a column for the Huffington Post’s “The World Post” section and appears as a commentator on the Middle East for Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera English, TRT, Alaraby TV, Russia Today, Masr Al-Aan TV. Prior to that, he was Chief Foreign Leader writer of The Guardian, Associate Foreign Editor, and Moscow Bureau Chief, European Correspondent, and Northern Ireland correspondent.

  Editor-in-Chief of the Middle East Eye

• Walter Posch

  Walter Posch

  Senior Research Fellow at the National Defence Academy in Vienna

  Dr. Walter Posch is a Senior Research Fellow at the National Defence Academy in Vienna, Dr. Posch holds a PHD in Iranian Studies and a MA in Turkish studies, he focusses on modern Iran, modern Turkey and the Kurdish issue. Previously, he was posted at the European institute of Security Studies EUISS in Paris and at the German Institute for Foreign and Strategic Affairs SWP in Berlin.

  Senior Research Fellow at the National D...

• Adam Bensaid

  Adam Bensaid

  Deputy Producer, TRT World

  Adam Atauallah Bensaid is a Researcher at SESRIC, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, where he conducts policy and strategy design for OIC member states in the fields of security sector reform, CVE, national security capacity building and deradicalization. He completed his Msc in Strategic and Defense Studies from the University of Malaya, Malaysia, and is currently completing an MA in International Relations and Contemporary War from King's College London

  Deputy Producer, TRT World

• Saadet Oruc

  Saadet Oruc

  Saadet Oruc started her journalistic career in Ankara as a diplomatic correspondent in 1995. From 2002 up until 2013 she was based in France. She worked for different news organizations until late 2015. On November 2015, she was appointed as the Chief Advisor to the President of the Turkish Republic by President Erdogan. She writes for the daily Star newspaper and the Daily Sabah(English), and hosts a daily radio program at TRT Radyo Haber

• Arzu Yılmaz

  Arzu Yılmaz

  Chair of Department of International Relations at the American University of Kurdistan

  Dr Arzu Yılmaz is Chair of Department of International Relations at American University of Kurdistan based in Duhok, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Dr. Arzu Yılmaz has obtained her PhD in International Relations from Ankara University in Turkey, where she wrote her dissertation on Kurdish refugees and the political identity of the refugee agent. Her research interests are : Kurdish Question, Middle East Politics, Migration/Refugee, Gender and Conflict Resolution

  Chair of Department of International Rel...

• Dorothee Schmid

  Dorothee Schmid

  Expert on Mediterranean and Middle East issues

  Dorothee Schmid is an expert on Mediterranean and Middle East issues. Schmid joined IFRI (The French Institute for International Relations) in 2002 in Paris. She has produced extensive analysis on EU and French policies in the region, induced democratization, the political economy and regional balance of powers. She established the Contemporary Turkey Program in 2008 in order to follow in real time the rise of Turkish foreign policy and the transformations of the Turkish regime. The present agenda of IFRI’s Middle East and Turkey department includes the dynamics of political transitions in the post-Arab spring period, the future of the rentier-state culture, rising conflicts, territorial reorganizations and the new competition for influence among powers. Before focusing on academic research, Dorothée Schmid worked as a country-risk analyst for Bank Crédit agricole-Indosuez and as a Euromed attaché for Cités Unies France, a federation of French local authorities. She has carried out various consulting missions for public institutions (the European Commission, French Ministry of Economy, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs), NGOs and private companies. She authored many articles and reports about Turkey and the Middle East and regularly appears in the French and international media.

  Expert on Mediterranean and Middle East ...

• Zeynep Coskun

  Zeynep Coskun

  Former Research Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research

  Zeynep Coskun is a Research Fellow at Al Sharq Forum. Prior to joining Al Sharq, she was a Dr. Herchel Smith Fellow at the University of Cambridge conducting Economic and Anthropological research concerning the MENA region. Zeynep has an MPhil in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge and a B.A. from Williams College in Economics and Arabic Studies. Her research interests include Turkish Foreign Policy, Regional Kurdish Politics, Iraq, Energy Politics and Nationalism

  Former Research Fellow at Al Sharq Strat...

• Mohammad Marandi

  Mohammad Marandi

  Professor of English Literature and Orientalism at the University of Tehran

  Mohammad Marandi, Professor of English Literature and Orientalism at the University of Tehran

  Professor of English Literature and Orie...

• Garth le Pere

  Garth le Pere

  Professor of International Relations at the University of Pretoria

  Garth le Pere is a Professor of International Relations at the University of Pretoria and a Senior Associate of the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection based in Johannesburg. Having served for 12 years, he is also the founding Executive Director of the Institute for Global Dialogue. His areas of interest and publications include international relations theory, multilateral trade and emerging markets

  Professor of International Relations at ...

• Yılmaz Ensaroğlu

  Yılmaz Ensaroğlu

  Chief Advisor to the Turkish Ministry of Justice

  Chief Advisor to the Turkish Prime Ministry. He previously served as the president of MAZLUMDER, and director of Law and Human Rights Department of SETA Foundation. He has authored many articles in various books, journals and newspapers on issues of human rights, civil society, democratization, security sector reform, civil-military relations, coup d’états, freedom of religion, secularism, Kurdish question, and hate crimes among others

  Chief Advisor to the Turkish Ministry of...

• Fatma Ceren Yazgan

  Fatma Ceren Yazgan

  Deputy Director General for Security and Intelligence at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

  Deputy Director General for Security and Intelligence at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

  Deputy Director General for Security and...

• Richard Atwood

  Richard Atwood

  Director for the New York based International Crisis Group

  Richard Atwood is the director for the New York based International Crisis Group, a non-governmental conflict prevention organisation. He advises Crisis Group’s president on policy in Africa and the Middle East; represents the organisation at the United Nations; and leads its cross-cutting work on al-Qaida and ISIS. Before Crisis Group, he worked across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia for about fifteen years under different local and international organizations

  Director for the New York based Internat...

• Bayar Dosky

  Bayar Dosky

  Assistant professor at the College of International Studies at the American University of Kurdistan

  Dr. Bayar is an assistant professor at the College of International Studies at the American University of Kurdistan (AUK) and has 14 years of expertise in supervising and teaching undergraduate and master degree students in various universities, he taught Turkey and Iran’s Politics, Politics of Kurds and Kurdistan, and international Issues. He obtained his PhD focusing on the Kurdish Question in American Policy toward Turkey 1991-1999 from Mosul University

  Assistant professor at the College of In...

• Ferhat Pirincci

  Ferhat Pirincci

  Faculty member in the Department of International Relations

  Ferhat Pirincci is a faculty member in the Department of International Relations and the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences at Uludağ University. He has worked as an Advisor at the Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies (ORSAM) based in Ankara

  Faculty member in the Department of Inte...

• Yasser Tabbara

  Yasser Tabbara

  Senior Researcher at OMRAN

  Senior Researcher at OMRAN Center for Strategic Studies. Prior to that, he served as the spokesperson and legal advisor for the President of the Syrian Interim Government (SIG), the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces (SOC), and the Syrian National Council (SNC). He also served as Executive Director of the Syrian American Council (SAC), Syrian American Council

  Senior Researcher at OMRAN

• Fuat Keyman

  Fuat Keyman

  Director of Istanbul Policy Center and a Professor of International Relations at Sabancı University

  Fuat Keyman is the Director of Istanbul Policy Center and a Professor of International Relations at Sabancı University. Keyman is a leading Turkish political scientist and an expert on democratization, globalization, international relations, Turkey – EU relations, Turkish foreign policy, and civil society development. He is a member of the Science Academy. He has worked as a member on the Council of Wise People as part of the Peace Process to the Kurdish issue. He also serves on advisory and editorial boards for a number of respected international and national organizations as well as for academic journals.

  Director of Istanbul Policy Center and a...

• Frederic Wehrey

  Frederic Wehrey

  Senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  Frederic Wehrey is a senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He specializes in security affairs, civil-military relations, and identity politics, with a focus on North Africa and the Gulf. He holds a doctorate in International Relations from Oxford University. He studied Arabic at Cairo University, the University of Jordan, and the Yemen Language Center in Sana’a

  Senior fellow in the Middle East Program...

• Osama Farid

  Osama Farid

  Economic and political Advisor

  Osama Farid is an economic and political Advisor. He served as an advisor to President Morsi as the head of international relations

  Economic and political Advisor

• Patrick Milton

  Patrick Milton

  Postdoctoral Fellow at Freie Universität Berlin

  Patrick Milton is currently employed as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Freie Universität Berlin. He received his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2013 under the supervision of Prof. Brendan Simms. He won the 2013 annual joint essay prize of the German History Society and the Royal Historical Society. He has since worked on a collaborative project at the University of Cambridge

  Postdoctoral Fellow at Freie Universitä...

• Mohammed Dangor

  Mohammed Dangor

  Ambassador, Middle East and North Africa advisor to the South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation

  As an ambassador Mohammed Dangor is the Middle East and North Africa advisor to the South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation. He previously served South African ambassador to Syria and to Libya. Ambassador Dangor has a long history in the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, and served in the underground movement of the African National Congress.

  Ambassador, Middle East and North Africa...

• Gunter Seufert

  Gunter Seufert

  Senior Researcher at the German Institute for International Security Affairs in Berlin

  Gunter Seufert is a senior researcher at the German Institute for International Security Affairs in Berlin. He has focused on political developments in Turkey and the Cyprus dispute. He served as a correspondent for newspapers during 2001-2004 and between 2007-2010 in Istanbul, German, Switzerland and Austria. He was a visiting lecturer at the University of Cyprus in Nicosia. In Turkey, he has taught Middle East Studies department between 2004-2007. He worked as a researcher and director of the German Oriental Society Institute which is Located in central Beirut between the years 1996-2001. Seufert has sociology doctorate at the University of Lausanne and has worked as a postdoctoral researcher.

  Senior Researcher at the German Institut...

• Falah Mustafa Bakir

  Falah Mustafa Bakir

  Head of the Department of Foreign Relations for the Kurdistan Regional Government

  Falah Mustafa Bakir is the Head of the Department of Foreign Relations for the Kurdistan Regional Government. Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir was appointed as the first Head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Department of Foreign Relations in September 2006, tasked with administering KRG foreign policy and bolstering the Region’s relations with the international community for the government’s fifth cabinet. He is also representing KRG at multinational forums

  Head of the Department of Foreign Relati...

• Said Ferjani

  Said Ferjani

  Advisor to the Head of Ennahdha politburo

  Said Ferjani is currently the advisor to the Head of Ennahdha politburo, member of the policies formulation committee of the shura council, and a member of the shura council. He is also the former advisor to the Secretary of state justice after being exiled for 22 years and a victim of torture under Ben Ali’s rule

  Advisor to the Head of Ennahdha politbur...

• Samuel Plumbly

  Samuel Plumbly

  Political Officer with The Shaikh Group (TSG)

  Samuel Plumbly is a Political Officer with The Shaikh Group (TSG), focusing on its Syria Track II Dialogue Initiative, a project that aims to build consensus among key Syrian actors in support of a political process to end the conflict. Prior to joining TSG he worked with IOM in Lebanon and as a senior research assistant at the Brookings Institution’s Doha Center

  Political Officer with The Shaikh Group ...

• Ihtisham Hibatullah

  Ihtisham Hibatullah

  International relations manager at Al Jazeera Media Network

  Ihtisham Hibatullah is the international relations manager at Al Jazeera Media Network, and board member of the Al Sharq Forum. Prior to this role, he has held various positions within the Al Jazeera including as head of international relations and project manager for marketing and communications. He continues to attend and contribute to international forums and seminars on issues related Middle East and wider region.

  International relations manager at Al Ja...

• John Bell

  John Bell

  Director of the Middle East & Mediterran Programme at the Toledo International Centre for Peace

  John Bell is the Director of the Middle East & Mediterranean Programme at the Toledo International Centre for Peace, and the Director of The Conciliators Guild, an organization dedicated to new foundations for policy development and excellence in diplomacy. He was formerly Middle East Director in Jerusalem for Search for Common Ground. He was also an advisor to the Canadian Government during the Iraq crisis

  Director of the Middle East & Mediterran...

• Yavuz Güçtürk

  Yavuz Güçtürk

  Research assistant at Law and Human Rights Directorship, SETA Foundation

  Yavuz Güçtürk is a research assistant at Law and Human Rights Directorship, SETA. He is studying doctorate in Department of Political Science at Faculty of Political Science, Ankara University. Previously, he worked with various non-governmental organizations in the field of human rights as a reporter and expert. He graduated for both bachelor and master from ODTU (Middle East Technical University), Department of History

  Research assistant at Law and Human Righ...

• Muhanad Seloom

  Muhanad Seloom

  Expert in ethno-sectarian conflicts.

  Muhanad Seloom is an expert in ethno-sectarian conflicts. He is a criminologist in training and a linguist [Arabic, English, and Kurdish]. His research focuses on ethno-sectarian conflicts in the Middle East, terrorism and mechanisms of securitization. In his PhD thesis at the University of Exeter, his hypothesis examined the relationship between designating violent groups “terrorist” and the choice to use violence in an ethnic conflict context

  Expert in ethno-sectarian conflicts.