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election board decision to re-run the Istanbul mayoral election the first part of the conversation is slightly out of date.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!
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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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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?’
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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.
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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.
I’ve written an article for World Politics Review ahead of Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary snap elections on June 23.
In it I try to take a longer view, suggesting that while President Erdoğan’s political grip continues to tighten, long-term social tides in the country are not necessarily moving in the religiously conservative direction many assume.
“Erdoğan towers over all areas of life in the country. State institutions have gradually been subordinated to his will since he first came to office in 2003 … He is almost constantly on television, often delivering three pugnacious speeches in one day, broadcast live on every news channel. Under the state of emergency he has been able to govern through decrees granted the full force of the law. His supporters refer to him as ‘reis,’ or chief.
“The government’s attempts to mold Turkish society have in recent years shaped education, family and cultural policy. Money has poured into the Directorate of Religious Affairs, which now has an annual budget of over 4 billion liras, dwarfing most other ministries. Erdogan has famously declared his aim to ‘raise pious generations.’ In right-wing populist fashion, he frames this as a return to a more authentic and harmonious Turkish order, denouncing liberal and secular currents as alien and unwelcome impositions.
“But despite the AK Party being at the apogee of its power, longer-term trends suggest that things may not be so simple. While the government’s religious-nationalist program, combining modern Islamic conservatism with a populist streak heavy on Ottoman nostalgia, appears firmly in place today, there are growing signs that social tides in Turkey are not necessarily moving in the conservative direction that many assume. The vaunted social revolution ushered in by the current government is not as deep as many observers inside and outside the country commonly assume.”
Click here to read the whole thing. If the link doesn’t bring up the whole article it means you’ll need need to sign up to WPR to read it. But if you write your email address in the box at the bottom right corner of the page you should be given access to read.
Turkey Book Talk episode #64 – JOHN MCMANUS, post-doctoral fellow at the British Institute at Ankara, on “WELCOME TO HELL? IN SEARCH OF THE REAL TURKISH FOOTBALL” (W&N), a colourful exploration of what the beautiful game can tell us about a football-mad society and Turkey’s modern history.
Download the episode or listen below.
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Here’s my review of the book from last week.
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, and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman History titles published by IB Tauris.
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş on Turkey and Europe beyond hypocrisy
April 17, 2018
Turkey Book Talk episode #62 – ASLI AYDINTAŞBAŞ, journalist and fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, on the ECFR’s recent report: “The Discreet Charm of Hypocrisy: An EU-Turkey Power Audit”
Based on interviews with top officials on all sides, the report examines bitter current ties between Brussels and Ankara. It recommends finding a new model for the relationship beyond the hypocritical and stalled accession process.
Download the episode or listen below.
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Become a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get extra things! Members get full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive (in English) and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman History titles published by IB Tauris.
Max Hoffman on Turkey’s latest nationalist wave
March 20, 2018
Turkey Book Talk #60 – MAX HOFFMAN of the Center for American Progress on the major recent study “IS TURKEY EXPERIENCING A NEW NATIONALISM?” based on focus groups and polling with the Metropoll research company.
The report finds that Turkey remains a deeply nationalist, conservative country, where the national mood is prickly, defensive and conspiratorial. But it also contains some perhaps surprising details about attitudes to President Erdoğan, levels of religiosity in young people, and the political opinions of Turkish women.
The study can be read/downloaded here. Further analysis of the results can be read here.
Download the episode or listen below.
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As mentioned in the podcast, here’s the episode we published with Max last year on his previous long report about civil society under siege in Turkey:
Become a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get extra content. Members get full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive (in English) and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman History titles published by IB Tauris.
Turkey Book Talk episode #57 – Karabekir Akkoyunlu, research associate at the University of Graz, on “Exit from Democracy: Illiberal Governance in Turkey and Beyond” (Routledge), a collection of 10 essays he co-edited with Professor Kerem Öktem.
Listen out for details of our brand new Turkey Book Talk membership system – giving members a range of exciting extra perks.
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Please spread the word about Turkey Book Talk and the new membership scheme.
Turkey Book Talk episode #54 – EZGİ BAŞARAN on her book FRONTLINE TURKEY: THE CONFLICT AT THE HEART OF THE MIDDLE EAST (IB Tauris), a 200-page account of the collapse of the Kurdish peace process, the rise and fall of the Gülen movement, and deepening authoritarianism.
Download the episode or listen below.
Here’s my review of the book at HDN.
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* ONE WEEK LEFT FOR OUR SPECIAL OFFER *
You’ve only got until the end of 2017 to support Turkey Book Talk by taking advantage of a 33% discount plus free delivery (cheaper than Amazon) on five different titles, courtesy of Hurst Publishers:
- ‘Jihad and Death: The Global Appeal of Islamic State’ by Olivier Roy
- ‘The Circassian: A Life of Eşref Bey, Late Ottoman Insurgent and Special Agent’ by Benjamin Fortna
- ‘The New Turkey and its Discontents’ by Simon Waldman and Emre Çalışkan
- ‘The Poisoned Well: Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East’ by Roger Hardy
- ‘Out of Nowhere: The Syrian Kurds in Peace and War’ by Michael Gunter
Follow this link to get that discount from Hurst Publishers.
Another way to support the podcast, if you enjoy or benefit from it: Make a pledge to Turkey Book Talk via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Michelle Zimmer, Steve Bryant, Jan-Markus Vömel, Celia Jocelyn Kerslake, Aaron Ataman, Max Hoffman, Andrew MacDowall, Paul Levin, Ayla Jean Yackley and Tan Tunalı.
Many thanks for listening all year. Here’s to a podcast-filled 2018!
The Sultan and the Sultan
November 8, 2017
I’ve written a long-ish article for History Today on historical revisionism in Turkey around the figure of hard-line late Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II – who many are keen to imagine as a precursor of President Erdoğan.
Abdülhamid has long been venerated as ‘Ulu Hakan’ (the Supreme Sultan) by conservative ideologues within Turkey, but the reverence has reached fever pitch under Erdoğan. An idealised memory of Abdülhamid, which casts him as the last proudly Islamic Ottoman leader standing up to the West, has become part of the government’s narrative of civilisational ‘restoration’, in which Turkey is once again a great power that shapes history. Abdülhamid is often glorified as a symbolic precursor of Erdoğan – proof that historic forces are at play today. …
When he first became sultan in 1876, Abdülhamid appeared to be an enlightened reformer. He supported the Ottoman constitution, giving the empire its first experience of constitutional democracy. The next year he opened the first session of an elected Ottoman parliament … But the experience of ruling a vast, decaying empire hardened him into an absolutist, and he became convinced that he needed to rule with a stronger hand to protect it from further dismemberment. …
The parallels with Turkey’s current president are obvious. Erdoğan was once lauded in the West as a moderate Muslim reformer, raising the country’s democratic standards and advancing its economy. But his international reputation has since deteriorated badly. Authoritarianism, rent-seeking and demagoguery mark his era. The state administration is subject to the whims of capricious one-man rule. A cult of personality is in full swing, with Erdoğan embodying the frustrations, hopes and grievances of Turkey’s conservative masses, bound by a powerful sense of shared identity. …
Erdoğan’s supporters see the decline in his reputation abroad as part of a dark international plot to halt this forward march. Conspiratorial thinking runs rampant. Orhan Osmanoğlu, a fourth-generation descendent of Abdülhamid, claims that Turkey is today witnessing a ‘repetition of history’: ‘Meddling foreigners now call our president a dictator, just as they used to call Abdülhamid the “Red Sultan.”’ Parliament Speaker İsmail Kahraman compared last year’s coup attempt to the dethroning of Abdülhamid in 1909: ‘They wanted to do the same as they did when they overthrew Abdülhamid, but this time they couldn’t succeed.’
I’ve been meaning to write this article for ages so do go and read the whole thing (there are also some nice visuals).
Turkey Book Talk 