Ayse Zarakol on stigma and status anxiety in Turkey’s ties to the West
February 18, 2020
Turkey Book Talk episode #109 – Ayşe Zarakol, reader in international relations at Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, on “After Defeat: How the East Learned to Live with the West” (Cambridge University Press).
The book was published in English in 2011, and its second Turkish edition has just come out. It examines how a sense of “stigma” has dogged the way modern Turkey engages with the Western-led international order, as well as comparable cases of Japan and Russia.
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Turkey Book Talk episode #106 – Mike Giglio, staff writer at The Atlantic, on his book “Shatter the Nations: ISIS and the War for the Caliphate” (Public Affairs).
The book describes Giglio’s years reporting on the rise and fall of ISIS from Turkey, Syria and Iraq, including time embedded on the front line with Iraqi special forces and the Syrian Kurdish YPG.
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Become a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get loads 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 episodes, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.
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Bilge Yabancı on youth groups cultivating Turkey’s religious nationalism
December 17, 2019
Turkey Book Talk episode #105 – Bilge Yabancı, Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Graz’s Centre of Southeast European Studies, on her paper “Work for the Nation, Obey the State, Praise the Ummah: Turkey’s Government-oriented Youth Organizations in Cultivating a New Nation”, published in the journal Ethnopolitics.
Based on original fieldwork conducted over almost two years, the article explores the often umbilical relationship between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and over a dozen youth organisations that share its goal of shepherding Turkey down a religious, nationalist, conservative course.
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Here’s a link to the paper itself.
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This is the last episode of 2019. The next episode will be published in THREE weeks, on the first Tuesday of 2020. Thank you for listening throughout this year!
Here’s the link to sign up to Raziye Akkoç and Diego Cupolo’s Turkey Recap weekly newsletter, mentioned at the end of the episode.
Become a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get loads 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 episodes, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics. A great Christmas present!
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Caner Yelbaşı on the Circassians in Turkey and the Ottoman Empire
December 3, 2019
Turkey Book Talk episode #104 – Caner Yelbaşı, researcher in history at Mardin Artuklu University, on “The Circassians in Turkey: War, Violence and Nationalism from the Ottomans to Atatürk” (IB Tauris/Bloomsbury).
The book describes the course of Circassians in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey after they were driven from their north Caucasus homeland by the Russian Empire in the 19th century.
Download the episode or listen below.
Here’s our earlier episode from February 2017: Benjamin Fortna on Eşref Kuşçubaşı, late Ottoman insurgent and special agent
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Become a member to support Turkey Book Talk and get loads 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 episodes, and an archive of 231 reviews written by myself covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics. A great Christmas present!
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Turkey Book Talk episode #100 – Holly Shissler, associate professor of Ottoman and Modern Turkish History at the University of Chicago, on the life and work of Ahmet Mithat Efendi (1844-1912).
Ahmet Mithat is among the most important men of letters in the late Ottoman era. The publisher of the newspaper Tercuman-i Hakikat, he was also the author of many fictional works including Felatun Bey and Rakim Efendi, which appeared in an English translation from Syracuse University Press in 2016, and which Shissler wrote an afterword for.
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 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.
Deniz Çifçi on the fissures within Kurdish politics in Turkey
September 24, 2019
Turkey Book Talk episode #99 – Deniz Çifçi on “The Kurds and the Politics of Turkey: Agency, Territory and Religion” (IB Tauris/Bloomsbury).
Based on extensive on-the-ground research, the book describes the diversity of interest and opinion among Kurds in Turkey, addressing differences in language, tribal affiliation, religion and ideology.
While news coverage and analysis often see the Kurds as a homogeneous group with unified demands, Çifçi paints a more nuanced picture.
Download the episode or listen below:
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This book is one of over 400 books in IB Tauris/Bloomsbury’s Turkey/Ottoman history category, which you can get a 35% discount on if you sign up to become a Turkey Book Talk member. Members also get 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.
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.
Sign up as a member to support Turkey Book Talk via Patreon.
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 #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.
Sign up as a member to support Turkey Book Talk via Patreon.
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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