Krzysztof Popek, Ph.D
Dr. Krzysztof Popek is an assistant professor at the Institute of History at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. He holds a doctorate in history from the Jagiellonian University and an M.A. in Slavic philology. He is the author of the books: Muzułmanie w Bułgarii 1878-1912 (Kraków 2022), co-authored with Bartłomiej Rusin Uchodźcy, czyli goście Boga. Studia z dziejów migracji bałkańskich w XIX wieku – przypadek Bułgarii i Serbii (Kraków 2022), and “Turecka opończa, belgijska peleryna. Obraz państwa bułgarskiego w twórczości satyrycznej przełomu XIX i XX wieku” (Kraków 2016). His articles have been published in Poland, Great Britain, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. He received the PRELUDIUM 13 and OPUS 20 scholarships from the National Science Center in Krakow, POWER 3.1 from the European Social Fund, the Lanckoroński Foundation scholarship and scholarships from the Polish Minister of Higher Education. Popek is a member of the Balkan History Association and a peer reviewer for Bulgarian, Romanian and Slovenian journals. He specializes in the political and social history of the Balkan Peninsula in the nineteenth century.
Halim Gençoğlu, Ph.D
Historian Halim Gençoğlu is the author of nine books and several articles in African Studies. He was born in Trabzon city, Turkey in 1981. After his Bachelor’s degree in Historical Studies, he completed his second Master’s degree in Religious Studies and Doctoral Studies in Hebrew Language and Literature at the University of Cape Town. He received the international success award for his contribution to Turkish relations with Africa from Tumbifed in 2022. Dr Gençoğlu continues his academic research as a postdoctoral fellow in Afro-Asian Studies and contract staff in African Studies at the University of Cape Town.
Mevlüt Çelebi, Prof. Dr.
Mevlüt Çelebi was born in 1964 in Ürgüp, in Nevşehir province, and completed his primary and secondary education in Başdere Town. He completed his high school education at Kayseri Atatürk High School, and graduated from Ege University History Department in 1986. In the same year, Çelebi began studying for his master’s degree at Dokuz Eylül University Atatürk’s Principles and History of Turkish Revolution Institute, before commencing work as a lecturer at Ege University Atatürk’s Principles and History of Turkish Revolution Department.
In his master’s and doctoral theses, Çelebi studied Turkish-Italian relations during the War of Independence. After completing his doctorate, he worked as an assistant professor at Manisa Celal Bayar University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Çelebi conducted research in archives and libraries in Italy with the scholarships granted by TÜBİTAK, the Turkish Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is currently a lecturer in the History of the Republic of Turkey at Ege University, Faculty of Literature, Department of History. Scientific Interest and Fields of Study: National Struggle, History of the Republic of Turkey Ataturk Monuments and Statues Turkish-Italian Relations.
Beşir Mustafayev, Ph.D
The areas of scientific interest and professional expertise of Beşir Mustafayev are general Turkish history, history of the Armenian question and terrorism, history of the contemporary Turkish world, history of North Azerbaijan and Transcaucasia, and history of the recent era and history of the Republic of Turkey. He has written four books including “History of Karabakh”, “Vandalism: Genocide Against Historical Names” and “Russian and Armenian Terrorism in History (In the Light of Documents and Information)” as well as a further four books titled “Muslim-Turk Genocides from Anatolia to the Caucasus” which are in the process of being published, and more than 50 articles in national and international scientific journals, more than 20 publications published in proceedings and as chapters in books. Mustafayev has more than 40 articles published in various newspapers and magazines and nearly 300 of his works have been cited. He has also participated in more than 30 national and international congresses and workshops in Turkey and abroad. In addition to this, he has taken part in two interviews in television and radio programs, 12 panels and seminar presentations, and is a referee and consultant to 12 scientific institutions. He also advises students at the thesis level, including six postgraduate and 34 undergraduate students and continues his own academic studies. Mustafayev speaks Azerbaijani Turkish, Russian and Arabic at intermediate level.
Turan Gafarlı, M.A.
Turan Gafarlı is an expert on the post-Soviet region and the editor of the book “Karabakh Gambit: The Responsibility for the Future”. He is a former advisor to the Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Politics from Queen Mary University of London and a Master of Arts in Transnational Studies from University College London, where he submitted the thesis ‘Nation-State in the Age of Globalization: Turkey’s Contemporary Path 1996-2016’. He has also worked as a researcher in the House of Lords and has interned at the Council of Europe and the United Nations in Geneva. Gafarlı is a member of Chatham House – Royal Institute of International Affairs.
Pat Walsh, Prof. Dr.
Dr. Patrick Walsh is a historian, political analyst and professor. He has written a number of books about the 1890-1920 period with particular interests in British Foreign Policy, the First World War, Germany, Ottoman Turkey, Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. His most recent publications were “Great Britain against Russia in the Caucasus” (2020) and a publication on the Second Karabakh War entitled “44 Days: Karabakh from Occupation to Liberation (2022).” He has also had books published on Irish history and the conflict in Northern Ireland. Dr. Walsh received his PhD from Queen’s University Belfast, Department of Political Science, and BSc (Hons) from London University.
Tolga Başak, Prof. Dr.
Born in 1976 in Erzurum. He graduated from Atatürk University, Faculty of Literature, Department of History in 1997. In 1998, he joined the Institute of Atatürk’s Principles and History of Turkish Revolution within the same university as a research assistant. In London, as a result of his researches in the British archives (The National Archives of the United Kingdom, Public Record Office; The Parliamentary Archives, House of Lord Record Office; British Library, Oriental and India Office Collections), he received the title of Dr. with his doctoral thesis on “Britain’s Armenian Policy, (1830-1923)”. Başak, who received the title of Asst. Assoc. in 2008, Associate Professor in 2015 and Prof. in 2020, is still a faculty member at Atatürk University. He has scientific studies on the history of the National Struggle and the Republic of Turkey and the Armenian question.
Uğur Üçüncü, Prof. Dr.
Born on March 23, 1981 in Torul district of Gümüşhane, Uğur Üçüncü completed his primary, secondary and high school education in Çiğli district of Izmir. He commenced his higher education at Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Science and Literature, Department of History in the 1999-2000 academic year and graduated from the department in 2003. Üçüncü entered the master’s program at the same university and in 2006 completed his master’s degree with a thesis titled “Unionism in Trabzon in the National Struggle”.
While continuing his post-graduate study, in 2005 Üçüncü was employed as a research assistant at Afyon Kocatepe University, Faculty of Science and Literature, Department of History. In 2006, he entered the doctoral program at Afyon Kocatepe University. For six months, he worked in the Department of Turkish Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands and in 2010 completed his doctoral program with a dissertation titled “The Great Offensive in Turkish Public Opinion”. From 2010 to 2011 he completed his military service as a reserve officer at the 7th Border Battalion Command in Çıldır district of Ardahan, and in December 2012 took up a position as lecturer at Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Literature, Department of History.
Üçüncü was awarded the title of Associate Professor in October 2013 and Professor in 2019. His publications include: Kadirbeyzade Zekibey, Portrait of a Dissident in the Second Period of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey; A Prohibition Experiment in the Years of the National Struggle, Men-i Muskirat (Prohibition of Liquor) Law and Its Reflections on Social Life; The Activities of the Unionists in Trabzon; The Great Offensive in Turkish Public Opinion; A Unionist Sima Kâhya Yahya in Trabzon in the Years of the National Struggle; The Fog Curtain of Recent Turkish History: September 6-7 Events. He has also written many articles and chapters in books, and has participated in national and international congresses and symposiums. Professor Üçüncü is married with 3 children, speaks English, and is currently a faculty member at Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Literature, Department of History.
Dr. Arye Gut
Arje Gut was born in 1975 in the Azerbaijani capital Baku. He moved to Israel in 2000. The political scientist was head of the organization “International Projects for Society” and led the representation of the Baku International Multiculturalism Center in Israel. He has written more than 700 articles on Turkish-Israeli relations, the strategic partnership between Israel and Azerbaijan and the geopolitical situation in the South Caucasus. The respected scientist passed away in September 2022 after a long and serious illness.