Areas of Expertise

• Countering Transnational Organized Crime
• Transnational and Comparative Security Issues/Policies
• Political Regimes and Security
• Non-State Actors and Security
• Conflict and Human Displacement

Academic Degrees

• Ph.D., Political Science, Kent State University
• Master of Arts, Justice Studies, Kent State University

Cüneyt Gürer, Ph.D., joined the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in October 2020 as a professor of Transnational Security Studies. In this role, he provides academic content and advice for the Program on Countering Transnational Organized Crime and conducts lectures on transnational security issues, including those related to Türkiye and its extended region.

Before joining the Marshall Center, Gürer was the Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation fellow at the University of Siegen, Germany. In this role he conducted research on conflict and human displacement and taught a course on conflict dynamics, human displacement experiences, transnational crime, and refugee integration.

After 20 years of service, Gürer retired from the Turkish National Police in April 2016. Following his retirement, he worked as a senior security consultant for European nongovernmental aid agencies delivering humanitarian support to Syrian refugees in Türkiye and worked to increase the efficiency of support activities on the ground.

During his government service, Gürer coordinated Türkiye’s first comprehensive drug strategy and policy document in cooperation with EU institutions. As head of Türkiye’s national focal point to the European Union Drugs Agency, he actively supported European-level policy interaction and served as an expert to parliamentary committees on drug-related issues.

In 2020, Gürer served as the editor of “Proxy Forces in Modern Warfare,” a special edition of “Security and Defence Quarterly.” He also served as a research and policy fellow with the Eurasia Democratic Security Network, focusing on political regime changes, democracy, and security. He was awarded the Second-Degree Meritorious Service Medal in 2013 by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia for contributions to increasing law enforcement cooperation between Türkiye and Georgia.