Walter Posch studied Turkish/Ottoman history and Persian at Vienna University. After obtaining his master’s degree he studied Ottoman history at Istanbul University before going to Bamberg/Germany where he obtained his PhD. He returned to Austria in early 2000. After various positions within the National Defence Academy, he joined the Institute for Peace and Conflict Research (IFK), focussing on security related issues regarding Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and ethnic questions. From 2004-2009 he worked at the EU Institute for Security Studies (Paris) and from 2010-2014 at Germany’s leading Think Tank SWP. Since 2015 he works again at the National Defence college in Austria focussing on Turkish Left-Wing terrorism, the Kurdish issue the development of militias in the Middle East, notably Iraq and Iran’s security apparatus. Dr Posch is fluent in German, Turkish, French and Persian
