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 Talas American College (Talas Amerikan Koleji or Talas Amerikan Ortaokulu in Turkish) was a secondary school for boys, located in Talas, Kayseri in Turkey.
History
The college was established in 1871 by US missionary James L. Fowle, and was turn ...
in
Talas, Kayseri and the high school at Tarsus American College in
Tarsus
Tarsus may refer to:
Biology
*Tarsus (skeleton), a cluster of articulating bones in each foot
*Tarsus (eyelids), elongated plate of dense connective tissue in each eyelid
*The distal segment of an arthropod leg see Arthropod tarsus
*The lower le ...
,
Mersin
Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and district governorates: Akdeniz, Mezitl ...
.
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 vo ...
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 ...
in
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 ...
and
international relations
International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the Scientific method, scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities betwe ...
.
Career
Çandar began his career as journalist in 1976 for the newspaper ''
Vatan
''Vatan'' ("Homeland" or "Motherland") is a Turkish daily newspaper founded in 2002 by the Doğan Media Group. The paper was purchased by DK ( Demirören & Karacan) Corporation in April 2011 and was totally acquired by Demirören Holding Demiö ...
'' after living in the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
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 subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...
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 Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
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 J ...
) 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 ...
), 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 Press ...
'', ''
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 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 Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...
'', ''
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 considere ...
'', ''
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
Doğan Media Group (''Doğan Yayın Holding A.Ş.'') was a Turkish media cong ...
'' 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 t ...
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 ...
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 Wash ...
and a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace
The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American federal institution tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individuals in diplomacy, mediation, and other pea ...
. 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 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