Cengiz Çandar (born 1948) is a Turkish

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, senior columnist, and a Middle East expert. He is the author of Turkey’s Neo-Ottomanist Moment - A Eurasianist Odyssey (Policy Series) (2021); Turkey's Mission Impossible: War and Peace with the Kurds (2020) and Mezopotamya Ekspresi- Bir Tarih Yolculugu (Mesopotamia Express- A Journey in History) (2012), which has been translated into various languages, including Kurdish (Sorani) and Arabic.

Early life

Çandar finished the secondary school at Talas American College in Talas, Kayseri and the high school at Tarsus American College in Tarsus,

Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...

. Çandar graduated from

Ankara University Ankara University ( tr, Ankara Üniversitesi) is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the formation of the republic in 1923. The university has 40 vocat ...

in 1970 with a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

Career

Çandar began his career as journalist in 1976 for the newspaper ''

Vatan ''Vatan'' ("Homeland" or "Motherland") is a Turkish daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers ...

'' after living in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

due to his opposition to the regime in Turkey following the military intervention in 1971. Being an expert on the Middle East (

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

and

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

) and the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

(

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

), Çandar worked for the Turkish News Agency and for the leading Turkish newspapers ''

Cumhuriyet ''Cumhuriyet'' (; English: " Republic") is the oldest up-market Turkish daily newspaper. It has been described as "the most important independent public interest newspaper in contemporary Turkey". The newspaper was awarded the ''Freedom of Pres ...

'', ''

Hürriyet ''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is one of the major Turkish newspapers, founded in 1948. , it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' has a mainstream, liberal and conservative outlook. ''Hürriyet ...

'', ''

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

'', ''

Radikal ''Radikal'' () was a daily liberal Turkish language newspaper, published in Istanbul. From 1996 it was published by Aydın Doğan's Doğan Media Group. Although Radikal did not endorse a particular political alignment, it was generally considered ...

'', ''

Referans ''Referans'' was a daily Turkish language business-and-economics newspaper, published in Istanbul. It was taken over in 2004 by Aydın Doğan's Doğan Media Group, and in 2010 merged with the group's paper ''Radikal ''Radikal'' () was a daily ...

'' and '' Güneş'' as a war correspondent. Currently, he is a columnist for

Al-Monitor Al-Monitor ( ar, المونيتور) is a news website launched in February 2012 by the Arab American entrepreneur Jamal Daniel and based in Washington, DC, United States. Al-Monitor provides reporting and analysis from and about the Middle East. ...

. Çandar served as special adviser on foreign policy to Turkish president

Turgut Özal Halil Turgut Özal (; 13 October 192717 April 1993) was a Turkish politician, who served as the 8th President of Turkey from 1989 to 1993. He previously served as the 26th Prime Minister of Turkey from 1983 to 1989 as the leader of the Mothe ...

between 1991 and 1993. He was the lead on the establishment of relationship between the Turkish Presidency and the Iraqi Kurdish leadership (1991) that led recognition of

Jalal Talabani Jalal Talabani ( ku, مام جەلال تاڵەبانی, translit=Celal Talebanî; ar, جلال طالباني ; 1933 – 3 October 2017) was an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the sixth president of Iraq from 2006 to 2014, as well as ...

and

Massoud Barzani Masoud Barzani ( ku, ,مه‌سعوود بارزانی, translit=Mesûd Barzanî}; born 16 August 1946) is a Kurdish politician who has been leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) since 1979, and was President of the Kurdistan Region of ...

in Turkey. He was also actively involved in Balkan politics, especially during the ethnic unrest in the Balkans between 1993 and 1995. In 1998, he was among the well-known journalists who have been subjected to an aggressive defamation campaign by the military. Between 1999 and 2000, he did research work on "Turkey of the 21st century" as a Public Policy Scholar at the

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (or Wilson Center) is a quasi-government entity and think tank which conducts research to inform public policy. Located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washi ...

and a Senior Fellow at the

United States Institute of Peace The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American Federal government of the United States, federal institution tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individual ...

. His description of the 1998 events in Turkey as a "post-modern coup". Çandar is one of the Turkish intellectuals who have recognized the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

by releasing an apology for the "great catastrophe of 1915". The text of the apology was "My conscience does not accept the insensitivity showed to and the denial of the Great Catastrophe that the Ottoman Armenians were subjected to in 1915. I reject this injustice and for my share, I empathize with the feelings and pain of my Armenian brothers and sisters. I apologize to them." In 2007, he condemned the authorities for depriving

Aghtamar Akdamar Island ( tr, Akdamar Adası, ku, Girava Axtamarê), also known as Aghtamar ( hy, Աղթամար, translit=Aġt’amar) or Akhtamar ( hy, Ախթամար, translit=Axt’amar), is the second largest of the four islands in Lake Van, in east ...

of its Armenian past by renaming it to "Akdamar". His report "Leaving the Mountain': How May the PKK Lay Down Arms?" was commissioned by Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) (published in Turkish in 2011 and in English in 2012) analyses what type of a political infrastructure is needed to ultimately resolve the 'Kurdish question’. From 2016, he moved to Stockholm, Sweden as Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies (SUITS) and Senior Associate Fellow at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI). His books written in Stockholm and Berlin, Turkey's Mission Impossible, War and Peace with the Kurds and Turkey’s Neo-Ottomanist Moment – A Eurasianist Odyssey are published in the United States in 2020 and in London in 2021 respectively. He has taught at Istanbul Bilgi University (1997–1999), Istanbul Kültür University (2002–2010), Özyegin University (2011). He is a frequent commentator on Turkey, Kurdish issue and Middle East affairs in international newspapers and on TV and lectures globally at universities including at Harvard University, Boston and University of Oxford.

Personal life

Çandar is married to writer Tuba Çandar, and they have one daughter. A lifelong Fenerbahçe fan, he has been a football commentator on

Fenerbahçe TV Fenerbahçe TV (FB TV) is a sports channel of Fenerbahçe S.K., Fenerbahçe SK, a major Turkey, Turkish sports club, multi-sport club based in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the first sports club channel in Turkey. The channel launched in 2003, over sa ...

since 2005.

Bibliography

The English translations of these titles are not the official titles. * ''Direnen Filistin'' (''The Palestine that Resists'') (1976) * ''Dünden Yarına İran'' (''Iran: From Yesterday to Tomorrow'') (1981) * ''Ortadoğu Çıkmazı'' (''The Middle East Impassé'') (1983) * ''Tarihle Randevu'' (''Rendezvous with History'') (1983) * ''Güneşin Yedi Rengi'' (''The Seven Colours of the Sun'') (1987) * ''Benim Şehirlerim'' (''My Cities'')(1999) * ''Çıktık Açık Alınla'' (2001) * ''Leaving the Mountain': How May the PKK Lay Down Arms?'' (2011) * ''Mezopotamya Ekspresi- Bir Tarih Yolculugu'' (''Mesopotamia Express- A Journey in History''), İletişim Publications (2012)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Candar, Cengiz 1948 births Living people People from Ankara Tarsus American College alumni Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences alumni Turkish journalists Turkish columnists Cumhuriyet people Hürriyet people Turkish war correspondents Radikal (newspaper) people Vatan people Sabbateans