
Ryan Gingeras on organised crime in Turkey's modern history
From Turkey Book Talk by William Armstrong
March 31, 2026 · 39 min · Episode 243
About this episode
Ryan Gingeras discusses the influence of organized crime in Turkey's political and economic life.
Ryan Gingeras, historian at the Naval Postgraduate School in California and author of “Mafia: A Global History” (Simon & Schuster) and “Heroin, Organized Crime, and the Making of Modern Turkey” (Oxford University Press), returns to the podcast. The conversation discusses the influence of criminal organisations in Turkey’s political and economic life over the decades, the alarming rise of new generation criminal gangs on Istanbul’s periphery, and the country’s position in international narcotics trafficking. 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/
People in this episode
Host: William Armstrong
Guest: Ryan Gingeras
Topics covered
- organized crime
- Turkey
- political influence
- economic impact
- narcotics trafficking
- criminal organizations
Keywords
- organized crime
- Turkey
- Ryan Gingeras
- narcotics trafficking
- criminal gangs
- political influence
- economic life
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Naval Postgraduate School, Simon & Schuster, Oxford University Press
Books & works: Mafia: A Global History, Heroin, Organized Crime, and the Making of Modern Turkey
Places: Turkey, Istanbul
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