Contemporary Turkish Politics

In this course we will study contemporary Turkish politics. Turkey is a secular, middle-income country with a Muslim-majority population. It is one of the few countries in the Middle East with democratic institutions, a NATO member, and a candidate state for EU membership. Turkey has also spearheaded the current global wave of democratic backsliding, its President Tayyip Erdogan curating his own autocratic playbook for other aspiring autocrats to emulate. How can we explain Turkey’s turbulent political trajectory? What are the ideological, cultural, and economic forces that shape Turkish politics? What role do external factors play in the country’s trajectory? How does Turkey affect its neighborhood? These are the questions we will explore through academic readings, political novels, films, and documentaries, as well as through occasional panels featuring speakers from diverse backgrounds.