Turkey Book Talk

Hannah Lucinda Smith on “Hinterlands: Journeys through Europe’s Unfinished Frontiers” (Profile Books). The book is based on vivid reporting from Eastern Europe, the East Mediterranean and the Caucasus, as places like Kosovo, Bosnia, Karabakh, Transnistria and Cyprus become geopolitical hotspots with ambitious revisionist powers like Russia and Turkey looking to secure a greater share of the pie. Please support Turkey Book Talk on Patreon or Substack. Supporters get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by Bloomsbury Academic, transcripts of every interview, and links to articles related to each episode. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2998854&fan_landing=true Substack: https://turkeybooktalk.substack.com/

Reuben Silverman on “The Rise and Fall of Turkey’s Democrat Party: The Cold War and Illiberalism, 1945–60” (Cambridge University Press) Whether intended as criticism or praise, today’s AKP government is often placed in the lineage of the Democrat Party and Adnan Menderes, prime minister for 10 years before being overthrown in a military coup in 1960. However, as the book shows, ”the line from the Democrat Party to the present day is neither as straight nor as flattering as Erdogan would have it be”. Please support Turkey Book Talk on Patreon or Substack. Supporters get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, transcripts of every interview, and links to articles related to each episode. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2998854&fan_landing=true Substack: https://turkeybooktalk.substack.com/

Senem Aydın-Düzgit, professor of international relations at Sabanci University and director of the Istanbul Policy Centre, on her article “Foreign Policy as Domestic Politics in Populist Competitive Authoritarianism: The Case of the May 2023 Elections in Turkey,” published in the journal South European Society and Politics. The conversation looks at how Erdogan uses foreign policy, defence policy and strongman diplomacy to burnish his reputation and reinforce public backing for the regime in Turkey. This strategy comes amid greater opportunity, as growing geopolitical uncertainty opens doors for ambitious players to reshape the international system based on raw power politics. Please support Turkey Book Talk on Patreon or Substack. Supporters get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, transcripts of every interview, and links to articles related to each episode. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2998854&fan_landing=true Substack: https://turkeybooktalk.substack.com/

Sean Mathews, Athens-based journalist at Middle East Eye, on “The New Byzantines: The Rise of Greece and Return of the Near East” (Hurst). The book examines Greece’s comeback as a regional player, arguing that this has largely been triggered by neighbouring Turkey’s growing assertiveness and revisionism. It suggests that this competition increasingly means we should view Greece as a Levantine or even Middle Eastern country, anchored in the East Mediterranean. The conversation also addresses the past, present and future of Turkey-Greece relations at a time when the geopolitical landscape is becoming increasingly uncertain. Please support Turkey Book Talk on Patreon or Substack. Supporters get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, transcripts of every interview, and links to articles related to each episode. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2998854&fan_landing=true Substack: https://turkeybooktalk.substack.com/

Gokhan Bacik, professor in the department of politics and European studies at Palacky University, on his article “Selling Citizenship in Turkey: Political Parties, Pragmatism, and Polarization,” recently published in the journal “Nationalism and Ethnic Politics”. The article examines the Turkish government’s Citizenship By Investment scheme, first introduced in 2016 and amended several times since then. It looks at the programme’s economic and social consequences, as well as the way it has been discussed – or avoided – in the national political debate. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2998854&fan_landing=true Substack: https://turkeybooktalk.substack.com/

Özgür Özkan, visiting scholar at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, on the domestic and regional implications of Turkey’s push for the Kurdish militant group’s dissolution. The conversation digs into issues raised by his recent article “Turkey’s Dangerous Illusion of Peace with the PKK”. Please support Turkey Book Talk on Patreon or Substack. Supporters get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, transcripts of every interview, and links to articles related to each episode. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2998854&fan_landing=true Substack: https://turkeybooktalk.substack.com/

Mustafa Kutlay, senior lecturer in comparative politics at City St George’s University of London, discusses his recent Foreign Affairs article “Turkey’s Middle-Power Dilemma”. Turkey is widely cited as one of the increasingly influential players in the emerging world order, with greater appetite and greater capacity to play a bigger role both in its region and elsewhere. Mustafa’s article focuses on the successes and failures of the Turkish government’s bid to carve out that greater role in the name of “strategic autonomy”. It also underlines the risks posed by this new world of increasingly ambitious, competitive powers clashing and cooperating with each other. Please support Turkey Book Talk on Patreon or Substack. Supporters get a 35% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, transcripts of every interview, and links to articles related to each episode. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2998854&fan_landing=true Substack: https://turkeybooktalk.substack.com/