Emre Erşen on Turkey’s pivot to Eurasia
August 27, 2019
Turkey Book Talk episode #97 – Emre Erşen, associate professor of political science and international relations at Marmara University, discusses the past, present and future of Ankara’s relations with Russia and China.
Erşen is co-editor, along with Seçkim Köstem, of “Turkey’s Pivot to Eurasia: Geopolitics and Foreign Policy in a Changing World Order” (Routledge).
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Also check out episode #83 – Selim Koru on Turkey, Russia and the power of political resentment
Become a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get a load of extras: A 35% discount on any of over 400 books in IB Tauris/Bloomsbury’s excellent Turkey/Ottoman history category, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire archive of 90+ episodes, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.
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Turkey Book Talk episode #96 – Hannah Lucinda Smith on her new book “Erdoğan Rising: The Battle for the Soul of Turkey” (William Collins).
Smith has been Turkey correspondent for The Times of London since 2013 and her book is a richly reported part-biography of President Erdoğan, part-journalistic account of contemporary Turkish history.
Download the episode or listen below.
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Become a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get a load of extras: A 35% discount on any of over 400 books in IB Tauris/Bloomsbury’s excellent Turkey/Ottoman history category, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire archive of 90+ episodes, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.
Sign up as a member to support Turkey Book Talk via Patreon.
Turkey Book Talk episode #90 – Toygar Sinan Baykan, assistant professor at Kırklareli University, on “The Justice and Development Party in Turkey: Populism, Personalism, Organization” (Cambridge University Press).
The book is based on in-depth interviews with over 50 members at various levels of Turkey’s ruling party, giving an intimate glimpse of the AKP’s internal dynamics and how it benefits from various socio-cultural divides.
Download the episode or listen below.
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Join as a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get a load of extras: A 35% discount on any of over 400 books in IB Tauris/Bloomsbury’s excellent Turkey/Ottoman history category, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire archive of 90+ episodes, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.
Sign up as a member to support Turkey Book Talk via Patreon.
Turkey Book Talk episode #89 – Reuben Silverman, author of “Turkey’s Ever Present Past: Stories from Republican Turkish History” and “Politics in Turkey: Parties, Politicians and the Struggle for Power” (Libra Books), talks about his wide-ranging research on contemporary Turkish history.
Unfortunately, after yesterday’s election board decision to re-run the Istanbul mayoral election the first part of the conversation is slightly out of date. But hopefully the rest is enlightening!
Download the episode or listen below.
Do check out Reuben’s excellent blog, a real treasure trove of articles.
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Join as a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get a load of extras: A 35% discount on any of over 400 books in IB Tauris/Bloomsbury‘s excellent Turkey/Ottoman history category, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire archive of 80+ episodes, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.
Sign up as a member to support Turkey Book Talk via Patreon.
One more head’s up – Friends of the podcast, the Bosphorus Review of Books, have published a book containing a number of their pieces since launching. “The Two Currents” anthology can be bought online at the locations listed here, so do check it out.
Patrick Keddie on football and the story of modern Turkey
April 23, 2019
Turkey Book Talk episode #88 – Patrick Keddie on “The Passion: Football and the Story of Modern Turkey” (IB Taurus/Bloomsbury).
The book is a sweeping account of the cultural, social, political and economic significance of the beautiful game in contemporary Turkey.
Download the episode or listen below.
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And here’s our episode from last year on the same subject – John McManus on football culture and society in Turkey.
Join as a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get a load of extras: A 35% discount on any of over 400 books in IB Tauris/Bloomsbury‘s excellent Turkey/Ottoman history category, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire archive of 80+ episodes, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.
Sign up as a member to support Turkey Book Talk via Patreon.
Turkey Book Talk episode #87 – Şevket Pamuk, Professor of Economics at Istanbul’s Boğaziçi University, on “Uneven Centuries: Economic Development of Turkey Since 1820” (Princeton University Press).
The book examines institutions and economic development in the Ottoman Empire and Republic of Turkey over the past two centuries, looking at both ruptures and continuities.
Download the episode or listen below.
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Join as a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get a load of extras: A 35% discount on any of over 400 books in IB Tauris/Bloomsbury‘s excellent Turkey/Ottoman history category, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire archive of 80+ episodes, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.
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Ceren Lord on religious politics in Turkey
March 26, 2019
Turkey Book Talk episode #86 – Ceren Lord, Research Fellow at Oxford University’s School of Global and Area Studies, on “Religious Politics in Turkey: From the Birth of the Republic to the AKP” (Cambridge University Press).
The book argues against the popular binary understanding of modern Turkish history, which pits a monolithic secular state against an authentic religious society. As Lord shows, the reality is much more complicated.
Download the episode or listen below.
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Here is the episode mentioned in the conversation – Halil Karaveli on his book “Why Turkey is Authoritarian: From Atatürk to Erdoğan” (Pluto Press).
Join as a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get a load of extras: A 35% discount on any of over 400 books in IB Tauris/Bloomsbury‘s excellent Turkey/Ottoman history category, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire archive of 80+ episodes, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.
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Selim Koru on Turkey, Russia and the power of political resentment
February 12, 2019
Turkey Book Talk episode #83 – Selim Koru, fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, on his paper: “The Resiliency of Turkey-Russia Relations.”
Despite being historic rivals and at odds on many issues, Koru argues that Ankara-Moscow ties are becoming increasingly warm due to a shared underlying worldview, spurred by resentment of the West.
Download the episode or listen below.
Here’s the paper we are discussing.
And here’s a link to Selim’s other writing.
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If you enjoyed this episode, you may also be interested in episode #70 from August 2018: Dimitar Bechev on Turkey-Russia relations, past and present.
Don’t forget: IB Tauris/Bloomsbury have agreed to renew the exclusive discount for Turkey Book Talk members. Join as a member to get access to a 35% discount on any of over 400 books in IB Tauris’ excellent Turkey/Ottoman history category.
Members also get (English and Turkish) transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the entire archive, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.
Sign up as a member to support Turkey Book Talk via Patreon.
Nazlı Alimen on faith, headscarves and conservative fashion in Turkey
September 18, 2018
Turkey Book Talk episode #73 – Nazlı Alimen on her book “Faith and Fashion: Consumption, Politics and Islamic Identity” (IB Tauris).
Download the episode or listen below.
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Support Turkey Book Talk by becoming a member. Membership gives you full transcripts in English and Turkish of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive (over 60 conversations so far), and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman History titles published by IB Tauris (including the book we focus on in this episode!)
Ahmet Erdi Öztürk on Turkey’s religious affairs directorate
September 4, 2018
Turkey Book Talk episode #72 – Ahmet Erdi Öztürk of Strasbourg University on the past, present and future of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet).
Öztürk is author of the paper “Turkey’s Diyanet under AKP rule: From protector to imposer of state ideology?” He is also co-author of “Diyanet as a Turkish Foreign Policy Tool: Evidence from the Netherlands and Bulgaria.”
Download the episode or listen below.
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Support Turkey Book Talk by becoming a member. Membership gives you full transcripts in English and Turkish of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive (over 60 conversations so far), and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman History titles published by IB Tauris.
Halil Karaveli on ‘why Turkey is authoritarian’
August 21, 2018
Turkey Book Talk episode #71 – Halil Karaveli, Senior Fellow at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, on his stimulating new book “Why Turkey is Authoritarian: From Atatürk to Erdoğan” (Pluto Press).
Against popular ideas that the division between secularism and Islam is the fundamental driver of Turkey’s modern history, Karaveli takes an uncompromisingly class-based perspective. He argues that the urge to protect dominant bourgeois class interests lies behind authoritarianism in its civilian and military guises.
Download the episode or listen below.
Read Halil’s most recent article at CACI’s Turkey Analyst: ‘Can Turkey Change?’
Subscribe to Turkey Book Talk : iTunes / PodBean / Stitcher / Acast / RSS
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Support Turkey Book Talk by becoming a member. Membership gives you full transcripts in English and Turkish of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive (over 60 conversations so far), and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman History titles published by IB Tauris.
Turkey Book Talk episode #66 – Cengiz Erişen of Istanbul’s Yeditepe University on “Political Behavior and the Emotional Citizen: Participation and Reaction in Turkey” (Palgrave Macmillan), focusing on the months between the June 2015 and November 2015 elections.
Our conversation also takes in the current campaign for the snap presidential and parliamentary elections, the surprisingly energetic performance of main opposition candidate Muharrem İnce, and the critical importance of the Kurdish issue.
Download the episode or listen below
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Here’s my review of the book from a couple of weeks ago.
Support Turkey Book Talk by becoming a member. Membership gives you full transcripts in English and Turkish of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive (over 60 conversations so far), and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman History titles published by IB Tauris.
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