Rate My Professor Michael Gunter

Michael Gunter is Professor of Political Science at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee, where he has taught since 1972, advancing from assistant professor (1972-1976) and associate professor (1976-1981) to full professor in 1981, making him the institution's longest-serving faculty member. He holds a B.A. in American History from Columbia University (1964), an M.I.A. from Columbia University's School of International Affairs with a focus on the Soviet Union (1966), and a Ph.D. in International Relations from Kent State University (1972), with minors in comparative politics and American politics. Gunter's academic interests center on the Kurdish question and related topics in Kurdish and Middle Eastern politics, including Turks, Armenians, international law and organization, nationalism, terrorism, and arms control. He has authored, co-authored, or co-edited more than two dozen books, among them recent publications such as Heydar Aliyev and the Foundations of Modern Azerbaijan (co-edited, 2024), Erdogan’s Path to Authoritarianism: The Continuing Journey (2024), The Karabakh Conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan: Causes & Consequences (co-authored, 2023), Routledge Handbook on the Kurds (2019), Historical Dictionary of the Kurds, 3rd ed. (2018), The Kurds: A Modern History, 2nd ed. (2017), Out of Nowhere: The Kurds of Syria in Peace and War (2014), and earlier works like The Kurds of Iraq: Tragedy and Hope (1993) and The Kurds in Turkey: A Political Dilemma (1990).

Gunter has earned significant recognition, including the Tennessee Tech Scholastic Research Award for Tenured Faculty (2023-2024), Faculty Research Award (2023-2024), Outstanding Faculty Award in Teaching (1999-2000), Caplenor Faculty Research Award (1995-1996), American Political Science Association and Pi Sigma Alpha Certificate for Outstanding Teaching in Political Science (2000), College of Arts & Sciences Award for Research & Creative Activity (2005), Ohio Valley Conference Excellence in Teaching Award (2007), and Distinguished Visiting Professor Award from the International University in Vienna (2003). He serves as Secretary-General of the European Union Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) in Brussels since 2009, Vice President of the Ahmed Foundation for Kurdish Studies since 2015, and holds advisory board positions with organizations such as the Centre for Kurdish Progress, Turkish Heritage Organization, and Atlantic Council Task Force on the Future of Iraq. Gunter has taught courses on Kurdish and Middle Eastern politics during summers at the International University in Vienna (2002-2011), for the U.S. Government Areas Studies Program and Department of State Foreign Service Institute in Washington, D.C., and recently delivered lectures at international conferences in Baku, Azerbaijan (January 2026) on cultural heritage and the Karabakh conflict, and in the Kurdistan region of Iraq (fall 2025) at the inaugural Kurdish Studies Forum, reflecting his enduring impact on the field.