Turkey Book Talk

Şebnem Gümüşcü on “Democracy or Authoritarianism: Islamist Governments in Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia” (Cambridge University Press). The book looks in depth at how intra-party factional struggles were key in shaping the AKP’s authoritarian direction, while also comparing this with Islamist parties in Egypt and Tunisia. Become a member  to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all T...

Constanze Letsch on “Territorial Stigmatisation: Urban Renewal and Displacement in a Central Istanbul Neighbourhood” (Transcript). The book examines a controversial project to demolish and rebuild Istanbul's historic, troubled Tarlabaşı neighbourhood, the impact it had on locals, and what it tells us about today's Turkey. Become a member  to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on...

Ci Demi on his photographs of Istanbul, which present an eerie, unflattering image of the city through depopulated landscapes, urban sprawl and surreal juxtapositions. His new photobook "Sehri Fikri" (Notions of a City) is published by Onagöre. Become a member  to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, transcripts...

Derin Koçer discusses Turkey’s election. The conversation addresses how economic woes may actually have helped Erdogan’s campaign, why the main opposition CHP repeatedly fails, whether nationalism is the real winner to emerge from the ballot boxes, and what awaits Turkey in the next five years. Become a member  to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History b...

Demet Aslı Çaltekin on “Conscientious Objection in Turkey: A Socio-legal Analysis of the Right to Refuse Military Service” (Edinburgh University Press). The conversation addresses the ubiquity of militarism and nationalism in Turkey, and the impact on people who refuse to do their compulsory military service.  Become a member  to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/O...

Aron Aji discusses the life and work of Turkish author Ferit Edgü. Aji’s translations of Edgu’s excellent, austere novellas “The Wounded Age” and “Eastern Tales” were recently published in a new single volume by New York Review Books.   Become a member to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, transcripts of every...

Tezcan Gümüş on “Turkey's Political Leaders: Authoritarian Tendencies in a Democratic State” (Edinburgh University Press). The book shows how almost all major leaders in Turkey’s multi-party history have demonstrated authoritarian traits, reflecting and fostering the various failings of Turkey’s democratic system. Become a member to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turke...

Paul Levin, director of Stockholm University’s Institute for Turkish Studies, on the power dynamics of Turkish and Kurdish communities in Sweden and the imbroglio over Stockholm's bid to join Nato. Levin is co-author of “Migration from Turkey to Sweden: Integration, Belonging and Transnational Community” (IB Tauris/Bloomsbury).   Become a member  to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% disc...

Maureen Freely on the life and work of the late Tezer Özlü. Her translation of Özlü’s 1980 novel “Cold Nights of Childhood” has just been published for the first time in English by Serpent’s Tail. Become a member  to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole ar...

Doğan Gürpınar, historian at Istanbul Technical University, on “Apparatchiks and Ideologues in Islamist Turkey: The Intellectual Order of Islamism and Populism” (Palgrave Macmillan).  Become a member  to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, and ov...

Nesi Altaras on “A Privilege That Cannot Be Bought: Jews of Turkey and Citizenship Restitution from Portugal and Spain” (Libra Books). The book weighs up the motivations of Turkish Jews applying for Spanish and Portuguese passports, after both countries allowed Sephardic Jews to "reclaim" citizenship. Become a member to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman His...

Selim Koru on the devastating recent earthquakes. The conversation compares their effect with the Marmara earthquake of 1999, as well as touching on the Erdogan government's response, the potential social, political and economic consequences, and the possible impact on Turkey's foreign policy. Please consider supporting one of the groups involved in post-earthquake relief measures in Turkey and Sy...

Çağdaş Üngör, professor of political science and international relations at Marmara University, on the history of Turkey-China ties, Turkish public perceptions of China, Ankara's stance on China’s treatment of its Uyghur minority, and Beijing’s efforts to craft its message to Turkish public opinion. Become a member to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman Histo...

Mostafa Minawi on “Losing Istanbul: Arab-Ottoman Imperialists and the End of Empire” (Stanford University Press). The book follows the rise and fall of a generation of Arab-origin figures who flourished in the Ottoman capital in the final years before the empire collapsed. Become a member to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Ta...

Gregory Goalwin on “Borders of Belief: Religious Nationalism and the Formation of Identity in Ireland and Turkey” (Rutgers University Press). The book explores Catholicism in Ireland and Islam in Turkey served as fundamental building blocks of the two countries' national identity through the 20th century. Become a member to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman...

Derya Ozkul on “The Alevis in Modern Turkey and the Diaspora: Recognition, Mobilisation and Transformation” (Edinburgh University Press), a volume she co-edited with Hege Markussen. Become a member  to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, and over...

Ryan Gingeras on “The Last Days of the Ottoman Empire 1918-1922” (Allen Lane). The conversation addresses events between the end of the First World War and the declaration of the Turkish Republic, while also touching on how these years are remembered in today's Turkey. Become a member  to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauri...

Enno Maessen, lecturer in political history at Utrecht University, on “Representing Modern Istanbul: Urban History and International Institutions in Twentieth Century Beyoglu” (IB Tauris/Bloomsbury). The book examines convulsive changes in Istanbul's historical Beyoglu district over the past century. Become a member  to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman His...

Gönül Tol, director of the Turkey program at the Middle East Institute, on “Erdogan’s War: A Strongman’s Struggle at Home and in Syria” (Oxford University Press). The book describes how developments in Syria have helped Turkey's president divide and eliminate his domestic rivals and consolidate his base.  Become a member  to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoma...

Elise Massicard on “Street-Level Governing: Negotiating the State in Urban Turkey” (Stanford University Press). The book dives deep into the world of muhtars, the lowest administrative rung in Turkey, looking first-hand at how they chart a course between local residents and higher authorities in the country. Become a member to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Otto...

Jonathan Parry, Professor of Modern British History at the University of Cambridge, on “Promised Lands: The British and the Ottoman Middle East” (Princeton University Press). The book charts British engagement with the Ottoman authorities and local communities across the Middle East in the 19th century. Become a member to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman H...

Sevgi Adak on “Anti-Veiling Campaigns in Turkey: State, Society and Gender in the Early Republic” (IB Tauris/Bloomsbury). The book examines measures taken by the authorities against women’s veiling, as well as other forms of clothing, in the 1920s and 1930s. Become a member to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury...

Galip Dalay on his Middle East Council on Global Affairs paper “ Turkey’s Middle East Reset: A Precursor for Reescalation? ” The piece looks at Ankara's bid to mend fences with previously bitter rivals including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel, the challenges it faces, and some of the exceptions. Become a member to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman...

Jan-Markus Vomel on his article “ Pathos and Discipline: Islamist Masculinity in Turkey, 1950-2000 ”, published in the journal Zeithistorische Forschungen. The piece explores how Turkish Islamism weaponised ideas of virility and manliness against what it saw as the emasculating forces of secularism and Westernisation. Become a member to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all T...

Saniye Dedeoglu on “Syrian Refugees and Agriculture in Turkey Work, Precarity, Survival” (IB Tauris/Bloomsbury). The book looks at Syrians' integration into Turkey’s labour market, its effect on relations between men and women, and the role of child labour in the agriculture sector. Become a member to support Turkey Book Talk. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books publishe...