Perin Gurel on the history of comparing Turkey and Iran in the West

September 30, 2025

Turkey Book Talk #254Perin Gurel of the University of Notre Dame on “Türkiye, Iran, and the Politics of Comparison: America’s Wife, America’s Concubine” (Cambridge University Press).

The book looks at diplomatic history, popular culture and media portrayals to explore the cultural history of Turkey–Iran comparisons in the West, from Cold War-era modernisation theory to post-9/11 studies of “moderate Islam”.

Download the episode or listen below:

Read a transcript of the interview on Substack.

Use the code “PERIN2025” to get a 20% discount when buying the book on the Cambridge University Press website.

Listen to Turkey Book Talk : Apple / Spotify / PodBean / Stitcher / PlayerFM / Listen Notes

Follow : Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / Bluesky

Please support Turkey Book Talk as a member on either Substack or Patreon. Members get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, access to transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, and links to articles related to the subject of every episode.

Leave a comment