Bülent Aras

Bülent Aras received his bachelor's degree in 1994, master's degree in 1996 and doctorate degree in 1999 from Boğaziçi University Department of Political Science and International Relations. He served as the head of the Strategic Research Center (SAM) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and chaired the Diplomatic Academy between 2010-2013. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Istanbul Policy Center and Coordinator of the Conflict Resolution, Mediation and Coexistence Program, and a Visiting Professor of International Relations at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Between 2009 and 2014, he worked as an academic advisor to the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmet Davutoğlu. Aras, one of the leading experts on Turkish foreign policy, Middle East politics and Central Asia; He contributed to the establishment of the Politics, Economics and Social Research Foundation (SETA), the Eurasian Strategic Research Center (ASAM) and the Turkish-Asian Strategic Research Center (TASAM). Aras has written 13 books published both at home and abroad. His articles have been published in many magazines and newspapers; It has been translated into various languages such as Persian, Russian and Arabic. He is the editor-in-chief of Perceptions magazine and the founding editor of Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations.