The Turkish Malaise A Critical Essay

No one can predict today how Turkey will evolve; which spirit will mark the country’s future. Who could have predicted the turn it has taken in recent years after having been a rising star in the early 2000s, a candidate for the European club, “the” model to follow, especially for Muslim countries seeking justice and prosperity? The failure of its candidacy, in which Europe has its share, has been the prelude to its progressive de-Westernisation accompanied by bellicosity on all fronts, at home and abroad. Western countries are trying to manage this “Turkish crisis” between incomprehension and blind detachment, between appeasement and complicity, between containment and apprehension of seeing this large country decompose in its turn. In this concise and well-documented essay, the author provides analytical tools to understand the split of a society, between state, nation, religion, imperial myth and the West. The analysis is complemented by interviews with the sociologist Nilüfer Göle and the historian Étienne Copeaux, both of whom have witnessed Turkey’s never-ending transformation.

Christian communities are deeply rooted in the Middle East, starting their witness since the first centuries of Christianity. The last hundred years of Middle East Christianity’s history went through a series of profound crises. Displacement by war, genocide and occupation leading to loss, emigration and exile seem to be the main experience of Christianity in the modern Middle East. Against this background of displacement, Christians have sought to resettle and build anew when allowed. They have been able to make significant cultural, political and economic contribution to Middle Eastern societies. In the last thirty years they are again facing ominous threat of extinction. Entering the new millennium, they are confronted with major difficulties and transformations in world politics. From 2011 Christians particularly in Syria and Iraq, have been suffering death and destruction in the hands of extremist Islamist groups. The volume is a fresh approach to the study of the Christian communities in the Middle East examining their relation to state, identity and politics. It questions main presuppositions and perceptions regarding Christianity in the Middle East, casts new light on the living Christian communities in the region and reflects on their future role. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: THE “CANARY IN THE MINE” OR THE FATE OF CHRISTIANS IN THE MIDDLE EAST - Sotiris Roussos ARMENIAN COMMUNITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST: LOSING THE PAST IN THE FUTURE? - Hratch Tchilingirian ONTOLOGICAL SECURITY THEORY: CHRISTIAN ‘EXISTENTIAL ANXIETY’ IN EGYPT AND LEBANON - Zakia Aqra, Stavros Drakoularakos & Charitini Petrodaskalaki MIDDLE EASTERN CHRISTIANITY IN SYRIA AND IRAQ: AT THE EPICENTRE OF THE RISE OF THE ISLAMIC STATE - Stavros Drakoularakos TURKISH POLICIES VIS-À-VIS CHRISTIANS: FROM EXCLUSION TO INCLUSION TO EXCLUSION AGAIN - Nikos Christofis THE GREEK/PALESTINIAN DIVIDE WITHIN THE JERUSALEM ORTHODOX CHURCH: THE INSTITUTIONAL ASPECT - Konstantinos Papastathis THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH AND THE STATE: THE MIDDLE EAST CONNECTION - Ilias Tasopoulos CHRISTIAN RIGHT AND US MIDDLE EAST POLICY: FOREIGN POLICY IN THE SERVICE OF GOD’S WILL - Marina Eleftheriadou CHRISTIANITY IN THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST: CURRENT SITUATION AND FUTURE CHALLENGES - Anthony O’Mahony

"These essays (aphorisms, theses, whatever you like) were written fifteen years ago in Turkish, and were published in Turkey in 2007. It was almost an idyllic, Arcadian time if considered from the point of view of today, that is, the nightmarish year 2020 when I am writing this. Trump was still your run-of-the-mill Reality TV star (who was also a millionaire), and could harm only his immediate environment. We only had to deal with the common cold and the flu, which, although deadly enough, could not even begin to compete with the Covid-19 pandemic. Turkey, Russia and India were ruled by populists with authoritarian tendencies even then; but their rule did not seem as eternal and as aggressively autocratic, bordering on fascism, as it is today." * The original book was published in Turkish titled "Bir Şeyler Eksik" by Metis Publishers, Istanbul, 2007. This English version is translated and printed by permission from the publishers. What a joy! Bülent Somay’s new-old text, translated from the Turkish by Bülent himself, takes us into the impenetrable heart of obscure Lacanian psychoanalysis and comes out with clarity, wit and epithetical precision. Theory comes alive here; and along with the fun and games, something dark is brought into the light. - Stephen Frosh, author of Feelings, Psychoanalysis Outside the Clinic, Hauntings and Those Who Come After) With clarity, wit and copious erudition, Bülent Somay brings his critical psychoanalytic eye to our most challenging human relations – the tribulations of sex, love and desire. Somay’s committed sexual politics informs this essential addition to our knowledge of the pleasures and perils of the bonds of desire. Something is Missing is not to be missed. - Lynne Segal, author of Radical Happiness: Moments of Collective Joy. CONTENTS Preface Introduction: Things We don’t Want to Know about Love, Sex and Life Chapter 1. Something is Missing Chapter 2. Knight in Shining Armour Chapter 3. Jealous of You I Am Chapter 4. That Dark/Obscure Object of Desire Chapter 5. ‘There is No Such Thing as a Sexual Relationship’ Chapter 6. The Woman does not Exist Anyhow Chapter 7. Silentium Universi Chapter 8. The Truth is Out There/’The Real’ is Out There Somewhere Index

Turkey in Turmoil is about the roaring 1960s - social conflicts, popular protest, political radicalization, ideologies, students' movements, the Turkish 68ers, women, political violence, guerilla activities, and popular culture. Historians, econ

The fruit of the revisionist school of Turkish history, this new collection of essays provides a comprehensive historical, political, and economic analysis of Turkey from the inception of its republic after World War I, through the military takeover of 1980, to the present.

From a leading scholar of the Middle East and North Africa comes a new way of thinking about the Arab Spring and the meaning of revolution. From the standpoint of revolutionary politics, the Arab Spring can seem like a wasted effort. In Tunisia, where the wave of protest began, as well as in Egypt and the Gulf, regime change never fully took hold. Yet if the Arab Spring failed to disrupt the structures of governments, the movement was transformative in farms, families, and factories, souks and schools. Seamlessly blending field research, on-the-ground interviews, and social theory, Asef Bayat shows how the practice of everyday life in Egypt and Tunisia was fundamentally altered by revolutionary activity. Women, young adults, the very poor, and members of the underground queer community can credit the Arab Spring with steps toward equality and freedom. There is also potential for further progress, as women’s rights in particular now occupy a firm place in public discourse, preventing retrenchment and ensuring that marginalized voices remain louder than in prerevolutionary days. In addition, the Arab Spring empowered workers: in Egypt alone, more than 700,000 farmers unionized during the years of protest. Labor activism brought about material improvements for a wide range of ordinary people and fostered new cultural and political norms that the forces of reaction cannot simply wish away. In Bayat’s telling, the Arab Spring emerges as a paradigmatic case of “refolution”—revolution that engenders reform rather than radical change. Both a detailed study and a moving appeal, Revolutionary Life identifies the social gains that were won through resistance.

Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly Bestseller The secret to leading growth is your mindset Snowflake CEO Frank Slootman is one of the tech world's most accomplished executives in enterprise growth, having led Snowflake to the largest software IPO ever after leading ServiceNow and Data Domain to exponential growth and the public market before that. In Amp It Up: Leading for Hypergrowth by Raising Expectations, Increasing Urgency, and Elevating Intensity, he shares his leadership approach for the first time. Amp It Up delivers an authoritative look at what it takes to transform an organization for maximum growth and scale. Slootman shows that most leaders have significant room to improve their organization's performance without making expensive changes to their talent, structure, or fundamental business model—and they don’t need to bring in an army of consultants to do it. What they do need is to align people around what matters and execute with urgency and intensity every day. Leading for unprecedented growth means declaring war on mediocrity, breaking the status quo, and making conflicted choices daily, all with a relentless focus on the mission. Amp It Up provides the first principles to guide that change, and the tactical advice for organizing a company around them. Perfect for executives, entrepreneurs, founders, managers, and leaders of all kinds, Amp It Up is a must-read resource for anyone who seeks to unleash the growth potential of a company and scale it to heights they never thought possible.

Vol. 1 No. 1 (December 2021) “You sleep with the devil; you wake up in hell!”: On the new EU-Turkey Deal - Nikos Christofis Playing politics with the plight of refugees. How the EU went into Erdogan’s political receivership - Dr Naif Bezwan, Dr Janroj Keles Merkel’s positive agenda has collapsed before it started - Cengiz Aktar Watershed moment in US-Turkey relations - David L. Phillips Turkey’s dealing with the Syrian Kurds (Part I) - Michael Gunter Turkey’s dealing with the Syrian Kurds (Part II) - Michael Gunter Minorities in Turkey I: Law and Reform - Baskın Oran Minorities in Turkey II: Ideology and Discrimination - Baskın Oran Human Rights Jeopardized in Turkey: Governmental and Judicial Intentions to Erode Due Process and the Right to a Fair Trial - Hasan Aydin Authoritarianism from Above and Below: Exclusive Nationalism and the Turkish-Kurdish Conflict - Harun Ercan What Will Happen to the Kurds If the US Withdraws from Syria and Iraq? - Arzu Yılmaz On the Collateral Impact of Turkey’s Authoritarian Turn: Re-securitization of the Kurdish Issue and the Kurds’ Struggle for Minority Recognition and Self -Determination - Emre Turkut