Spyros A Sofos | Simon Fraser University (original) (raw)

Books by Spyros A Sofos

Turkish Politics and ‘The People’: Mass Mobilisation and Populism, 2022

Turkish Politics and ‘The People’ enhances our understanding of ‘the popular’ in the study of pol... more Turkish Politics and ‘The People’ enhances our understanding of ‘the popular’ in the study of politics through a critical examination of the uses and constructions of ‘the people’ from the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923, to the present. It proposes ways of reading the insertion and operationalisation of the notion of ‘the people’ as a concept, a political subject, the object of policy and politics over the past century. It assesses the ways ‘the people’ have been shaped by the history of the republic, and, in turn, have informed ways of visualising society, the country’s political culture, institutional architecture and framed the parameters and repertoires of political action.

Drawing on extensive archival research and contributions from historical sociology and social movement research, Spyros A. Sofos enriches the ways of approaching the ‘popular’ by proposing ways of integrating identity, discourse, strategy, organisation and leadership in the articulation of ‘the people’ in political discourse and action.

"European Islam constitutes a veritable laboratory of identity, marked by polyphony, convergence ... more "European Islam constitutes a veritable laboratory of identity, marked by polyphony, convergence and contestation. Muslims in Europe are looking for sources of inspiration, tradition and authority; they are developing meanings and repertoires of collective action that allow them to root themselves in societies that are often ambivalent about their presence in their midst while maintaining and developing their own distinctive values and voices.
This book is intended to shed light to processes of Muslim identity construction in contemporary Europe, examining in some detail aspects of the complex way in which European Muslims relate to each other, construct and populate spaces they call home and create spaces of dialogue and debate."

Grounded in an extensive critical review of the popular and scholarly historiography and literatu... more Grounded in an extensive critical review of the popular and scholarly historiography and literature on Greek and Turkish nationalisms, this volume traces the emergence and development of the Greek and Turkish nationalist projects over the past two hundred years, challenging the received wisdom about the inevitability of the rise of a 'Greek' and a 'Turkish' nation.Acknowledging the complexity of the relationship between the two nationalisms, Özkırımlı and Sofos, examine a complex terrain involving the politics of language, religion, memory and history, territory and landscape; processes of homogenization, marginalization and minoritization of populations and cultures as well as institutional support of Greek and Turkish nationalism. They also discuss the place of 'constitutive violence' - physical and symbolic - in the nationalist imagination and the ensuing trauma and sense of loss in the process of establishment and consolidation of Greek and Turkish identities.

Grounded in an extensive critical review of the popular and scholarly historiography and literatu... more Grounded in an extensive critical review of the popular and scholarly historiography and literature on Greek and Turkish nationalisms, this volume traces the emergence and development of the Greek and Turkish nationalist projects over the past two hundred years, challenging the received wisdom about the inevitability of the rise of a 'Greek' and a 'Turkish' nation.Acknowledging the complexity of the relationship between the two nationalisms, Özkırımlı and Sofos, examine a complex terrain involving the politics of language, religion, memory and history, territory and landscape; processes of homogenization, marginalization and minoritization of populations and cultures as well as institutional support of Greek and Turkish nationalism. They also discuss the place of 'constitutive violence' - physical and symbolic - in the nationalist imagination and the ensuing trauma and sense of loss in the process of establishment and consolidation of Greek and Turkish identities.

"Tormented by History" is the first comparative study of nationalism in Greece and Turkey. Groun... more "Tormented by History" is the first comparative study of nationalism in Greece and Turkey. Grounded in an extensive critical review of the popular and scholarly historiography and literature on Greek and Turkish nationalisms, it traces the emergence and development of the Greek and Turkish nationalist projects over the past two hundred years, challenging the received wisdom about the inevitability of the rise of a 'Greek' and a 'Turkish' nation.Acknowledging the complexity of the relationship between the two nationalisms, Özkırımlı and Sofos, examine a complex terrain involving the politics of language, religion, memory and history, territory and landscape; processes of homogenization, marginalization and minoritization of populations and cultures as well as institutional support of Greek and Turkish nationalism. They also discuss the place of 'constitutive violence' - physical and symbolic - in the nationalist imagination and the ensuing trauma and sense of loss in the process of establishment and consolidation of Greek and Turkish identities.

The resilience of nationalism in contemporary Europe may seem paradoxical at a time when the nati... more The resilience of nationalism in contemporary Europe may seem paradoxical at a time when the nation state is widely seen as being 'in decline'. The contributors of this book see the resurgence of nationalism as symptomatic of the quest for identity and meaning in the complex modern world. Challenged from above by the supranational imperatives of globalism and from below by the complex pluralism of modern societies, the nation state, in the absence of alternatives to market consumerism, remains a focus for social identity.
Nation and Identity in Contemporary Europe takes a fully interdisciplinary and comparative approach to the 'national question'. Individual chapters consider the specifics of national identity in France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Iberia, Russia, the former Yugoslavla and Poland, while looking also at external forces such as economic globalisation, European supranationalism, and the end of the Cold War.
Setting current issues and conflicts in their broad historical context, the book reaffirms that 'nations' are not 'natural' phenomena but 'constructed' forms of social identity whose future will be determined in the social arena.

Papers by Spyros A Sofos

Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform: Global Transitions Series, 2023

In the 1990s Turkish governments developed a proactive strategy that embraced peacebuilding as a ... more In the 1990s Turkish governments developed a proactive strategy that embraced peacebuilding as a means of enhancing the country’s international stature. These initial steps included participating in UN and NATO multilateral peacekeeping, and operations in Somalia and the Balkans in the 1990s. In tandem with Turkey’s aspiration to join the European Union (EU), the Yilmaz government sought to redefine Turkey’s international identity from an important ally within the Euro-Atlantic institutional architecture to that of an emerging player on the global scene. As part of this effort, Ankara developed a multidimensional foreign policy framework within which development and peacebuilding policy acquired — at least in theory — importance. This policy shift was solidified by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) that succeeded the Yilmaz and Ecevit coalition governments that had first articulated this new foreign policy dimension. The “Strategy for Improving Economic Relations with African Countries” of 2003 was the prelude to Turkey’s emergence as a significant actor in the Middle East, North and sub-Saharan Africa, largely through its development and peacebuilding engagement, its cultural and commercial penetration of these regions, and its effort to mediate often complex conflicts. This report is predicated upon an extensive review of the relevant official documentation from the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the latest analysis and commentary; media reports; and interviews with policymakers, diplomats, Ministry of Defence officials, foreign policy, peacebuilding, and development experts. It assesses and analyses the understanding of mediation among Turkey’s political leadership and policy community, the contexts and main motivations underlying its conceptualisation and implementation, and outlines potential future developments.

Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform: Global Transitions Series, 2023

Over the past decade Turkey has emerged as a significant actor in the greater Middle East, North ... more Over the past decade Turkey has emerged as a significant actor in the greater Middle East, North and sub-Saharan Africa due to its development, peacebuilding engagement, and cultural and commercial penetration of these regions. Although this involvement has fluctuated in response to both domestic and international developments, Turkey is now considered an ambitious newcomer amongst the emergent powers in development and peacebuilding.
Turkey’s only pre-1990s engagements in peacemaking were its self-styled “peace-operation” in Cyprus (1970s), and its mediation between Iraq and Iran (1980s). These were informed by traditional security considerations, due to the sizeable Turkish minority in Cyprus in the case of the latter, and the shared borders with Iraq and Iran and the presence of Kurdish minorities in the case of Iran, Iraq and Turkey. Ankara’s role was limited, due to the introspective nature of its foreign policy and desire to protect its borders.
In the 1990s, Turkey developed a more proactive strategy using peacebuilding to enhance its international presence, such as participating in UN and NATO multilateral peacekeeping in Somalia and the Balkans. Alongside Turkey’s aspiration to join the European Union (EU), the Yilmaz government sought to redefine Turkey’s international identity from important ally within the Euro-Atlantic institutional architecture to an emerging and constructive global actor.
Ankara, in these efforts, developed a multidimensional foreign policy framework which prioritised – in theory at least – development and peacebuilding. This policy shift was solidified by the Justice and Development Party (AKP). The “Strategy for Improving Economic Relations with African Countries” of 2003 anticipated Turkey’s emergence as a significant actor in the Middle East, North, and sub-Saharan Africa due to its development, peacebuilding engagement, and cultural and commercial penetration of these regions. Identifying a “blueprint” for Turkey’s development and peacebuilding is difficult, due to its newness to the field. Moreover, this blueprint is inconstant, due to the volatile domestic, regional, and international environments. This report offers an extensive review of official documentation from the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Presidency of Religious Affairs (DİYANET), the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), analysis and commentary, media reports, and interviews with policymakers, diplomats, and foreign policy, peacebuilding, and development experts. It assesses and analyses the understanding of peacebuilding among Turkey’s political leadership and policy community, the contexts and main motivations underlying its conceptualisation and implementation and outlines potential future developments.

LSE Middle East Centre Papers, 2022

Son on yıl içerisinde, Türkiye Ortadoğu, Kuzey ve Sahra Altı Afrika’da önemli bir aktör olarak o... more Son on yıl içerisinde, Türkiye Ortadoğu, Kuzey ve Sahra Altı Afrika’da önemli bir aktör olarak ortaya çıktı. Bu büyük oranda kalkınma ve barış inşası alanındaki hamleleri ve bu bölgelerdeki kültürel ve ticari faaliyetleri sayesinde mümkün oldu. Türkiye’nin çabaları hem iç siyasetteki hem de uluslararası arenadaki gelişmelere göre değişkenlik gösterdi, ancak bölgedeki kalkınma ve barış inşa alanında varlık gösteren diğer yükselişte olan güçler arasında kendini büyük hedefleri olan yeni bir ana aktör olarak ortaya koymasına yardımcı oldu.
Bu rapor ilgili kurumlar tarafından yayımlanan resmi belgelerin kapsamlı bir analizine dayanmaktadır. Bunların arasında Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Dışişleri Bakanlığı, Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı (DİYANET), ve Türk İşbirliği ve Koordinasyon Ajansı Başkanlığı (TİKA) gelmektedir. Ek olarak basın taraması ve politika yapıcıları, diplomatlar (çoğu gizlilik şartı ile yürütülmüş olmak üzere), ve dış politika, barış inşası ve kalkınma uzmanları ile yapılan mülakatlara dayanmaktadır. Rapor, Türkiye’nin siyasi lider kadrosu ve politika üreticilerinin barış inşa süreçleri konusundaki tutum ve bakış açıları, kavramsallaştırma ve uygulamalarının arka planda yatan sebep ve ana motivasyonları ile son olarak ileriye yönelik olası gelişmeleri ele almaktadır.

LSE Middle East Centre Papers, 2022

Over the past decade, Turkey has become a significant actor in the Middle East, North and sub-Sah... more Over the past decade, Turkey has become a significant actor in the Middle East, North and sub-Saharan Africa, largely through its development and peacebuilding engagement, and its cultural and commercial penetration within these regions. This involvement has varied in response to both domestic and international developments, allowing Turkey to project itself as a major and ambitious newcomer, among other emerging powers in the development and peacebuilding field. Ankara’s new multidimensional foreign policy framework and its development and peacemaking approach has since undergone a significant transformation as international, regional and domestic developments have prompted the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to respond to challenges and opportunities posed in this field.
This report, premised on an extensive review of relevant official documents from the Republic of Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Presidency of Religious Affairs (DİYANET), the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), analysis of media reports, as well as interviews with policymakers, diplomats and foreign policy, peacebuilding, and development experts assesses the Turkish political leadership and policy community’s understanding of peacebuilding, the contexts and main motivations underlying its conceptualisation and implementation while outlining potential future developments.

Turkish Politics and ‘The People’

Public Talk at Lund University by Michael Degerald and Spyros Sofos. Michael gives a historical o... more Public Talk at Lund University by Michael Degerald and Spyros Sofos. Michael gives a historical overview of the last 70 years leading up to the emergence of the Islamic State. Spryos Sofos talks about the Islamic State in its contemporary dimensions based on his original research.

The “nativisation” of welfare provision implicitly accepts the SD’s redefinition of refugees as u... more The “nativisation” of welfare provision implicitly accepts the SD’s redefinition of refugees as undeserving others and gives credence to its chauvinistic welfare policies. Not only does the restriction of entitlements to non-native Swedes effectively constitute a symbolic bordering practice that circumscribes a restrictive and nativistic understanding of national identity, where solidarity is reserved, not for the needy, but for the ‘true Swedes’, but also it is represented as ‘not quite enough’ by the SD who are intent to capitalize from the transformation of a symbolic binary us v them logic to an antagonism over scarce resources.

This article examines the politics of pity deployed by Iranian activists against the football sta... more This article examines the politics of pity deployed by Iranian activists against the football stadium ban imposed on Iranian women and its impact on individual and collective histories of suffering and struggle of Iran's women in the pursuit of attaining citizenship

Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change, 2017

This chapter attempts to make sense of the ongoing struggle to name/define and give specific dire... more This chapter attempts to make sense of the ongoing struggle to name/define and give specific direction and purpose to the Gezi protests, an outburst of collective action and mass mobilization that took Turkey aback and prompted a violent and uncompromising response from an increasingly authoritarian government. It examines the emergence and brief career of the events, situates them within (and outside) the context of both Turkey’s protest culture and, more generally the current phase of Turkey’s post-islamist politics and puts forward an interpretation of Gezi as an almost solitary moment disrupting the ‘time’ of conventional politics in a society that is deeply divided in its understandings of democracy, representation and protest.

Cogent Social Sciences, 2021

Over the past decade, as ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) initiated Turkey's authoritar... more Over the past decade, as ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) initiated Turkey's authoritarian populist turn, it sought to derive legitimacy through extra-institutional avenues, notably the emotional appeal to the repressed "people", advancing the party's socio-political vision, countering the arguments of its political opponents and reaching out to, and inspiring its constituency. Turkey's urban space, bearing the marks of a century of republicanism, provided fertile ground for the deployment of emotion. This article, drawing on an analysis of the events surrounding the mosque conversion of Hagia Sophia and of the relevant media coverage, as well as on elements of 28 interviews with informants with political sympathies across the political spectrum, constitutes an attempt to contribute to the broader discussion of the emotional topography of populism in Turkey.

Journal of Historical Sociology, 2018

Through the social-historical contextualization of Gezi protests and drawing on the works of Badi... more Through the social-historical contextualization of Gezi protests and drawing on the works of Badiou and Turner this article conceptualises the protests as a 'happening' or 'event' characterized by rupture and liminality. Without underestimating their importance as a meaning creation process, it is argued that the visions inspiring Gezi have been/are in sharp contrast to the version of democracy shaped by the fears and aspirations of at least a plurality of the country's citizenry and enacted by the Justice and Development Party (AKP). At the same time, these visions remain largely incomprehensible to the Kemalist and nationalist opposition. The paper therefore suggests that Gezi should be located outside the linear time and conventional topography of Turkish politics and interpreted as a brief, powerful moment of rupture in a political system where both the incumbent political forces and the opposition and their constituencies are resisting change and consider extra-institutional 'antipolitics' as a threat. On 28 May 2013 it was hard to imagine that a modest protest event aimed to denounce government plans to demolish central Istanbul's Gezi Park and make room for the construction of a replica of a nineteenth century Ottoman Artillery Barracks would escalate into a country-wide protest movement. Largely a response to a violent police crackdown, and precipitated by the then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's defiant and polarizing rhetoric, the demonstrations quickly spread to other cities where enthusiastic protesters defied the authorities. Erdoğanprimarily trying to mobilize historically conditioned fears among his own conservative constituencychose to dismiss the demonstrators as "thugs" (çapulcu), a "menace" to society, alongside a vaguely defined murky "interest lobby" and their internal collaborators and eventually ordered the riot police to step in and violently disperse the protests with an assortment of pepper gas, water cannons and plastic bullets. The protests themselves came to stir the stagnant waters of Turkish politics. They went against the hitherto perceived prevalence for over a decade of the governing party over Turkish political life and the inability of the opposition to articulate a credible and inspiring voice. And against the security forces onslaught that followed, the resilience of the protesters, the success of the tactics and practices deployed by them as well as the adaptability and ability of the protests to spread throughout the country made Gezi an object, not only of study, but also fascination. Thousands of pages have been written on the protests, their meaning and their impact and a broad consensus has developed around the legacy of Gezi, its transformative potentialities and its significance in Turkish politics.

Globalizations, 2021

In this article we present a case analysis of Sahar Khodayari’s transformation into a global inju... more In this article we present a case analysis of Sahar Khodayari’s transformation into a global injustice icon, the #BlueGirl, after she set herself ablaze outside a courthouse in Tehran, Iran, allege...

Globalizations, 2021

In this article we present a case analysis of Sahar Khodayari’s transformation into a global inju... more In this article we present a case analysis of Sahar Khodayari’s transformation into a global injustice icon, the #BlueGirl, after she set herself ablaze outside a courthouse in Tehran, Iran, allegedly in protest against the ban on women entering football stadiums. We focus on the ways in which ‘pity’ was generated, mobilized, and transformed into indignation against the Iranian state by digital activists. Drawing on the literature on the politics of pity, we explore the creation of a global icon, the #BlueGirl, draw attention to the gendered elements of Sahar Khodayari’s iconization, and take a closer look at the mobilization of affect mechanisms set in motion. The article suggests that the politics of pity rests on a chain of erasures that deprive the pitiable other of their agency, history and historicity, and erase the global conditions that contribute to the suffering of the former, thus, localizing responsibility and instituting western moral hierarchies.

In the Aftermath of Gezi: From Social Movement to Social Change, 2017

This chapter attempts to make sense of the ongoing struggle to name/define and give specific dire... more This chapter attempts to make sense of the ongoing struggle to name/define and give specific direction and purpose to the Gezi protests, an outburst of collective action and mass mobilization that took Turkey aback and prompted a violent and uncompromising response from an increasingly authoritarian government. It examines the emergence and brief career of the events, situates them within (and outside) the context of both Turkey’s protest culture and, more generally the current phase of Turkey’s post-islamist politics and puts forward an interpretation of Gezi as an almost solitary moment disrupting the ‘time’ of conventional politics in a society that is deeply divided in its understandings of democracy, representation and protest.

Turkish Politics and ‘The People’: Mass Mobilisation and Populism, 2022

Turkish Politics and ‘The People’ enhances our understanding of ‘the popular’ in the study of pol... more Turkish Politics and ‘The People’ enhances our understanding of ‘the popular’ in the study of politics through a critical examination of the uses and constructions of ‘the people’ from the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923, to the present. It proposes ways of reading the insertion and operationalisation of the notion of ‘the people’ as a concept, a political subject, the object of policy and politics over the past century. It assesses the ways ‘the people’ have been shaped by the history of the republic, and, in turn, have informed ways of visualising society, the country’s political culture, institutional architecture and framed the parameters and repertoires of political action.

Drawing on extensive archival research and contributions from historical sociology and social movement research, Spyros A. Sofos enriches the ways of approaching the ‘popular’ by proposing ways of integrating identity, discourse, strategy, organisation and leadership in the articulation of ‘the people’ in political discourse and action.

"European Islam constitutes a veritable laboratory of identity, marked by polyphony, convergence ... more "European Islam constitutes a veritable laboratory of identity, marked by polyphony, convergence and contestation. Muslims in Europe are looking for sources of inspiration, tradition and authority; they are developing meanings and repertoires of collective action that allow them to root themselves in societies that are often ambivalent about their presence in their midst while maintaining and developing their own distinctive values and voices.
This book is intended to shed light to processes of Muslim identity construction in contemporary Europe, examining in some detail aspects of the complex way in which European Muslims relate to each other, construct and populate spaces they call home and create spaces of dialogue and debate."

Grounded in an extensive critical review of the popular and scholarly historiography and literatu... more Grounded in an extensive critical review of the popular and scholarly historiography and literature on Greek and Turkish nationalisms, this volume traces the emergence and development of the Greek and Turkish nationalist projects over the past two hundred years, challenging the received wisdom about the inevitability of the rise of a 'Greek' and a 'Turkish' nation.Acknowledging the complexity of the relationship between the two nationalisms, Özkırımlı and Sofos, examine a complex terrain involving the politics of language, religion, memory and history, territory and landscape; processes of homogenization, marginalization and minoritization of populations and cultures as well as institutional support of Greek and Turkish nationalism. They also discuss the place of 'constitutive violence' - physical and symbolic - in the nationalist imagination and the ensuing trauma and sense of loss in the process of establishment and consolidation of Greek and Turkish identities.

Grounded in an extensive critical review of the popular and scholarly historiography and literatu... more Grounded in an extensive critical review of the popular and scholarly historiography and literature on Greek and Turkish nationalisms, this volume traces the emergence and development of the Greek and Turkish nationalist projects over the past two hundred years, challenging the received wisdom about the inevitability of the rise of a 'Greek' and a 'Turkish' nation.Acknowledging the complexity of the relationship between the two nationalisms, Özkırımlı and Sofos, examine a complex terrain involving the politics of language, religion, memory and history, territory and landscape; processes of homogenization, marginalization and minoritization of populations and cultures as well as institutional support of Greek and Turkish nationalism. They also discuss the place of 'constitutive violence' - physical and symbolic - in the nationalist imagination and the ensuing trauma and sense of loss in the process of establishment and consolidation of Greek and Turkish identities.

"Tormented by History" is the first comparative study of nationalism in Greece and Turkey. Groun... more "Tormented by History" is the first comparative study of nationalism in Greece and Turkey. Grounded in an extensive critical review of the popular and scholarly historiography and literature on Greek and Turkish nationalisms, it traces the emergence and development of the Greek and Turkish nationalist projects over the past two hundred years, challenging the received wisdom about the inevitability of the rise of a 'Greek' and a 'Turkish' nation.Acknowledging the complexity of the relationship between the two nationalisms, Özkırımlı and Sofos, examine a complex terrain involving the politics of language, religion, memory and history, territory and landscape; processes of homogenization, marginalization and minoritization of populations and cultures as well as institutional support of Greek and Turkish nationalism. They also discuss the place of 'constitutive violence' - physical and symbolic - in the nationalist imagination and the ensuing trauma and sense of loss in the process of establishment and consolidation of Greek and Turkish identities.

The resilience of nationalism in contemporary Europe may seem paradoxical at a time when the nati... more The resilience of nationalism in contemporary Europe may seem paradoxical at a time when the nation state is widely seen as being 'in decline'. The contributors of this book see the resurgence of nationalism as symptomatic of the quest for identity and meaning in the complex modern world. Challenged from above by the supranational imperatives of globalism and from below by the complex pluralism of modern societies, the nation state, in the absence of alternatives to market consumerism, remains a focus for social identity.
Nation and Identity in Contemporary Europe takes a fully interdisciplinary and comparative approach to the 'national question'. Individual chapters consider the specifics of national identity in France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Iberia, Russia, the former Yugoslavla and Poland, while looking also at external forces such as economic globalisation, European supranationalism, and the end of the Cold War.
Setting current issues and conflicts in their broad historical context, the book reaffirms that 'nations' are not 'natural' phenomena but 'constructed' forms of social identity whose future will be determined in the social arena.

Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform: Global Transitions Series, 2023

In the 1990s Turkish governments developed a proactive strategy that embraced peacebuilding as a ... more In the 1990s Turkish governments developed a proactive strategy that embraced peacebuilding as a means of enhancing the country’s international stature. These initial steps included participating in UN and NATO multilateral peacekeeping, and operations in Somalia and the Balkans in the 1990s. In tandem with Turkey’s aspiration to join the European Union (EU), the Yilmaz government sought to redefine Turkey’s international identity from an important ally within the Euro-Atlantic institutional architecture to that of an emerging player on the global scene. As part of this effort, Ankara developed a multidimensional foreign policy framework within which development and peacebuilding policy acquired — at least in theory — importance. This policy shift was solidified by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) that succeeded the Yilmaz and Ecevit coalition governments that had first articulated this new foreign policy dimension. The “Strategy for Improving Economic Relations with African Countries” of 2003 was the prelude to Turkey’s emergence as a significant actor in the Middle East, North and sub-Saharan Africa, largely through its development and peacebuilding engagement, its cultural and commercial penetration of these regions, and its effort to mediate often complex conflicts. This report is predicated upon an extensive review of the relevant official documentation from the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the latest analysis and commentary; media reports; and interviews with policymakers, diplomats, Ministry of Defence officials, foreign policy, peacebuilding, and development experts. It assesses and analyses the understanding of mediation among Turkey’s political leadership and policy community, the contexts and main motivations underlying its conceptualisation and implementation, and outlines potential future developments.

Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform: Global Transitions Series, 2023

Over the past decade Turkey has emerged as a significant actor in the greater Middle East, North ... more Over the past decade Turkey has emerged as a significant actor in the greater Middle East, North and sub-Saharan Africa due to its development, peacebuilding engagement, and cultural and commercial penetration of these regions. Although this involvement has fluctuated in response to both domestic and international developments, Turkey is now considered an ambitious newcomer amongst the emergent powers in development and peacebuilding.
Turkey’s only pre-1990s engagements in peacemaking were its self-styled “peace-operation” in Cyprus (1970s), and its mediation between Iraq and Iran (1980s). These were informed by traditional security considerations, due to the sizeable Turkish minority in Cyprus in the case of the latter, and the shared borders with Iraq and Iran and the presence of Kurdish minorities in the case of Iran, Iraq and Turkey. Ankara’s role was limited, due to the introspective nature of its foreign policy and desire to protect its borders.
In the 1990s, Turkey developed a more proactive strategy using peacebuilding to enhance its international presence, such as participating in UN and NATO multilateral peacekeeping in Somalia and the Balkans. Alongside Turkey’s aspiration to join the European Union (EU), the Yilmaz government sought to redefine Turkey’s international identity from important ally within the Euro-Atlantic institutional architecture to an emerging and constructive global actor.
Ankara, in these efforts, developed a multidimensional foreign policy framework which prioritised – in theory at least – development and peacebuilding. This policy shift was solidified by the Justice and Development Party (AKP). The “Strategy for Improving Economic Relations with African Countries” of 2003 anticipated Turkey’s emergence as a significant actor in the Middle East, North, and sub-Saharan Africa due to its development, peacebuilding engagement, and cultural and commercial penetration of these regions. Identifying a “blueprint” for Turkey’s development and peacebuilding is difficult, due to its newness to the field. Moreover, this blueprint is inconstant, due to the volatile domestic, regional, and international environments. This report offers an extensive review of official documentation from the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Presidency of Religious Affairs (DİYANET), the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), analysis and commentary, media reports, and interviews with policymakers, diplomats, and foreign policy, peacebuilding, and development experts. It assesses and analyses the understanding of peacebuilding among Turkey’s political leadership and policy community, the contexts and main motivations underlying its conceptualisation and implementation and outlines potential future developments.

LSE Middle East Centre Papers, 2022

Son on yıl içerisinde, Türkiye Ortadoğu, Kuzey ve Sahra Altı Afrika’da önemli bir aktör olarak o... more Son on yıl içerisinde, Türkiye Ortadoğu, Kuzey ve Sahra Altı Afrika’da önemli bir aktör olarak ortaya çıktı. Bu büyük oranda kalkınma ve barış inşası alanındaki hamleleri ve bu bölgelerdeki kültürel ve ticari faaliyetleri sayesinde mümkün oldu. Türkiye’nin çabaları hem iç siyasetteki hem de uluslararası arenadaki gelişmelere göre değişkenlik gösterdi, ancak bölgedeki kalkınma ve barış inşa alanında varlık gösteren diğer yükselişte olan güçler arasında kendini büyük hedefleri olan yeni bir ana aktör olarak ortaya koymasına yardımcı oldu.
Bu rapor ilgili kurumlar tarafından yayımlanan resmi belgelerin kapsamlı bir analizine dayanmaktadır. Bunların arasında Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Dışişleri Bakanlığı, Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı (DİYANET), ve Türk İşbirliği ve Koordinasyon Ajansı Başkanlığı (TİKA) gelmektedir. Ek olarak basın taraması ve politika yapıcıları, diplomatlar (çoğu gizlilik şartı ile yürütülmüş olmak üzere), ve dış politika, barış inşası ve kalkınma uzmanları ile yapılan mülakatlara dayanmaktadır. Rapor, Türkiye’nin siyasi lider kadrosu ve politika üreticilerinin barış inşa süreçleri konusundaki tutum ve bakış açıları, kavramsallaştırma ve uygulamalarının arka planda yatan sebep ve ana motivasyonları ile son olarak ileriye yönelik olası gelişmeleri ele almaktadır.

LSE Middle East Centre Papers, 2022

Over the past decade, Turkey has become a significant actor in the Middle East, North and sub-Sah... more Over the past decade, Turkey has become a significant actor in the Middle East, North and sub-Saharan Africa, largely through its development and peacebuilding engagement, and its cultural and commercial penetration within these regions. This involvement has varied in response to both domestic and international developments, allowing Turkey to project itself as a major and ambitious newcomer, among other emerging powers in the development and peacebuilding field. Ankara’s new multidimensional foreign policy framework and its development and peacemaking approach has since undergone a significant transformation as international, regional and domestic developments have prompted the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to respond to challenges and opportunities posed in this field.
This report, premised on an extensive review of relevant official documents from the Republic of Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Presidency of Religious Affairs (DİYANET), the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), analysis of media reports, as well as interviews with policymakers, diplomats and foreign policy, peacebuilding, and development experts assesses the Turkish political leadership and policy community’s understanding of peacebuilding, the contexts and main motivations underlying its conceptualisation and implementation while outlining potential future developments.

Turkish Politics and ‘The People’

Public Talk at Lund University by Michael Degerald and Spyros Sofos. Michael gives a historical o... more Public Talk at Lund University by Michael Degerald and Spyros Sofos. Michael gives a historical overview of the last 70 years leading up to the emergence of the Islamic State. Spryos Sofos talks about the Islamic State in its contemporary dimensions based on his original research.

The “nativisation” of welfare provision implicitly accepts the SD’s redefinition of refugees as u... more The “nativisation” of welfare provision implicitly accepts the SD’s redefinition of refugees as undeserving others and gives credence to its chauvinistic welfare policies. Not only does the restriction of entitlements to non-native Swedes effectively constitute a symbolic bordering practice that circumscribes a restrictive and nativistic understanding of national identity, where solidarity is reserved, not for the needy, but for the ‘true Swedes’, but also it is represented as ‘not quite enough’ by the SD who are intent to capitalize from the transformation of a symbolic binary us v them logic to an antagonism over scarce resources.

This article examines the politics of pity deployed by Iranian activists against the football sta... more This article examines the politics of pity deployed by Iranian activists against the football stadium ban imposed on Iranian women and its impact on individual and collective histories of suffering and struggle of Iran's women in the pursuit of attaining citizenship

Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change, 2017

This chapter attempts to make sense of the ongoing struggle to name/define and give specific dire... more This chapter attempts to make sense of the ongoing struggle to name/define and give specific direction and purpose to the Gezi protests, an outburst of collective action and mass mobilization that took Turkey aback and prompted a violent and uncompromising response from an increasingly authoritarian government. It examines the emergence and brief career of the events, situates them within (and outside) the context of both Turkey’s protest culture and, more generally the current phase of Turkey’s post-islamist politics and puts forward an interpretation of Gezi as an almost solitary moment disrupting the ‘time’ of conventional politics in a society that is deeply divided in its understandings of democracy, representation and protest.

Cogent Social Sciences, 2021

Over the past decade, as ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) initiated Turkey's authoritar... more Over the past decade, as ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) initiated Turkey's authoritarian populist turn, it sought to derive legitimacy through extra-institutional avenues, notably the emotional appeal to the repressed "people", advancing the party's socio-political vision, countering the arguments of its political opponents and reaching out to, and inspiring its constituency. Turkey's urban space, bearing the marks of a century of republicanism, provided fertile ground for the deployment of emotion. This article, drawing on an analysis of the events surrounding the mosque conversion of Hagia Sophia and of the relevant media coverage, as well as on elements of 28 interviews with informants with political sympathies across the political spectrum, constitutes an attempt to contribute to the broader discussion of the emotional topography of populism in Turkey.

Journal of Historical Sociology, 2018

Through the social-historical contextualization of Gezi protests and drawing on the works of Badi... more Through the social-historical contextualization of Gezi protests and drawing on the works of Badiou and Turner this article conceptualises the protests as a 'happening' or 'event' characterized by rupture and liminality. Without underestimating their importance as a meaning creation process, it is argued that the visions inspiring Gezi have been/are in sharp contrast to the version of democracy shaped by the fears and aspirations of at least a plurality of the country's citizenry and enacted by the Justice and Development Party (AKP). At the same time, these visions remain largely incomprehensible to the Kemalist and nationalist opposition. The paper therefore suggests that Gezi should be located outside the linear time and conventional topography of Turkish politics and interpreted as a brief, powerful moment of rupture in a political system where both the incumbent political forces and the opposition and their constituencies are resisting change and consider extra-institutional 'antipolitics' as a threat. On 28 May 2013 it was hard to imagine that a modest protest event aimed to denounce government plans to demolish central Istanbul's Gezi Park and make room for the construction of a replica of a nineteenth century Ottoman Artillery Barracks would escalate into a country-wide protest movement. Largely a response to a violent police crackdown, and precipitated by the then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's defiant and polarizing rhetoric, the demonstrations quickly spread to other cities where enthusiastic protesters defied the authorities. Erdoğanprimarily trying to mobilize historically conditioned fears among his own conservative constituencychose to dismiss the demonstrators as "thugs" (çapulcu), a "menace" to society, alongside a vaguely defined murky "interest lobby" and their internal collaborators and eventually ordered the riot police to step in and violently disperse the protests with an assortment of pepper gas, water cannons and plastic bullets. The protests themselves came to stir the stagnant waters of Turkish politics. They went against the hitherto perceived prevalence for over a decade of the governing party over Turkish political life and the inability of the opposition to articulate a credible and inspiring voice. And against the security forces onslaught that followed, the resilience of the protesters, the success of the tactics and practices deployed by them as well as the adaptability and ability of the protests to spread throughout the country made Gezi an object, not only of study, but also fascination. Thousands of pages have been written on the protests, their meaning and their impact and a broad consensus has developed around the legacy of Gezi, its transformative potentialities and its significance in Turkish politics.

Globalizations, 2021

In this article we present a case analysis of Sahar Khodayari’s transformation into a global inju... more In this article we present a case analysis of Sahar Khodayari’s transformation into a global injustice icon, the #BlueGirl, after she set herself ablaze outside a courthouse in Tehran, Iran, allege...

Globalizations, 2021

In this article we present a case analysis of Sahar Khodayari’s transformation into a global inju... more In this article we present a case analysis of Sahar Khodayari’s transformation into a global injustice icon, the #BlueGirl, after she set herself ablaze outside a courthouse in Tehran, Iran, allegedly in protest against the ban on women entering football stadiums. We focus on the ways in which ‘pity’ was generated, mobilized, and transformed into indignation against the Iranian state by digital activists. Drawing on the literature on the politics of pity, we explore the creation of a global icon, the #BlueGirl, draw attention to the gendered elements of Sahar Khodayari’s iconization, and take a closer look at the mobilization of affect mechanisms set in motion. The article suggests that the politics of pity rests on a chain of erasures that deprive the pitiable other of their agency, history and historicity, and erase the global conditions that contribute to the suffering of the former, thus, localizing responsibility and instituting western moral hierarchies.

In the Aftermath of Gezi: From Social Movement to Social Change, 2017

This chapter attempts to make sense of the ongoing struggle to name/define and give specific dire... more This chapter attempts to make sense of the ongoing struggle to name/define and give specific direction and purpose to the Gezi protests, an outburst of collective action and mass mobilization that took Turkey aback and prompted a violent and uncompromising response from an increasingly authoritarian government. It examines the emergence and brief career of the events, situates them within (and outside) the context of both Turkey’s protest culture and, more generally the current phase of Turkey’s post-islamist politics and puts forward an interpretation of Gezi as an almost solitary moment disrupting the ‘time’ of conventional politics in a society that is deeply divided in its understandings of democracy, representation and protest.

Goethe Institut Schweden Magasin, 2018

The “nativisation” of welfare provision implicitly accepts the SD’s redefinition of refugees as u... more The “nativisation” of welfare provision implicitly accepts the SD’s redefinition of refugees as undeserving others and gives credence to its chauvinistic welfare policies. Not only does the restriction of entitlements to non-native Swedes effectively constitute a symbolic bordering practice that circumscribes a restrictive and nativistic understanding of national identity, where solidarity is reserved, not for the needy, but for the ‘true Swedes’, but also it is represented as ‘not quite enough’ by the SD who are intent on capitalizing from the transformation of a symbolic binary us v them logic to an antagonism over scarce resources.

Cogent Social Sciences, 2021

Over the past decade, as ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) initiated Turkey's authoritar... more Over the past decade, as ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) initiated Turkey's authoritarian populist turn, it sought to derive legitimacy through extra-institutional avenues, notably the emotional appeal to the repressed "people", advancing the party's socio-political vision, countering the arguments of its political opponents and reaching out to, and inspiring its constituency. Turkey's urban space, bearing the marks of a century of republicanism, provided fertile ground for the deployment of emotion. This article, drawing on an analysis of the events surrounding the mosque conversion of Hagia Sophia and of the relevant media coverage, as well as on elements of 28 interviews with informants with political sympathies across the political spectrum, constitutes an attempt to contribute to the broader discussion of the emotional topography of populism in Turkey.

The Making of a Protest Movement in Turkey, 2014

Nationalism in the Troubled Triangle, 2010

Nations and their Histories, 2009

This event consists of two lectures held earlier this Fall: "ISIS in the Context of Modern Middl... more This event consists of two lectures held earlier this Fall:
"ISIS in the Context of Modern Middle East History" - Michael Degerald
"(Almost) everything you would like to know about the Islamic State and a few things you would not" - Spyros Sofos
The lecture will be recorded and available on-line. Entrance is free but there is a limited number of seats. Please sign up to attend in the audience to anna.hellgren@cme.lu.se (see ticket link above). Attending the event on facebook is no guarantee that you get a seat.

This is a CMES event and held at Lund University LUX C-121.

Here is the lecture again: http://play.ht.lu.se/media/c29c7ddd
Go directly to part 2. Thank you all for coming tonight!

Public Talk at Lund University by Michael Degerald and Spyros Sofos. Michael gives a historical o... more Public Talk at Lund University by Michael Degerald and Spyros Sofos.
Michael gives a historical overview of the last 70 years leading up to the emergence of the Islamic State.
Spryos Sofos talks about the Islamic State in its contemporary dimensions based on his original research.

A critical look into the discourses that posit Turkey and Sweden as models for the Middle East

Sydsvenskan, Apr 26, 2013

0penDemocracy, Jul 2, 2015

Thoughts on how to vote in the Greek Referendum of 5 July 205