Additional information
by Spyros A. Sofos (Author)
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.
Back Jacket
A novel, interdisciplinary approach to populism and Turkish politics over the past 100 years This book 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 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. The author assesses the ways 'the people' have been shaped by the history of the republic and how - in turn - they have informed ways of visualising society, the country's political culture and institutional architecture, and framed the parameters and repertoires of political action. Key Features Offers a genealogy of the notion of 'the people' in Turkish political culture Provides a highly original analysis of the performative, discursive, cognitive and affective elements that underpin Turkey's populist adventure Proposes key conceptual tools to study popular and populist politics and applies them to the Turkish case Intertwines contemporary political analysis with extensive historical research, bringing together insights from critical and political theory, sociology, social anthropology and cultural studies Spyros A. Sofos is a Political Sociologist at the Middle East Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Author Biography
Spyros A. Sofos is a political scientist based at the Middle East Centre of the London School of Economics and Political Science and is founder and lead editor of openDemocracy's #rethinkingpopulism. He has a PhD in Regional and Cross-Cultural Studies from the University of Copenhagen and has previously worked as a Researcher and Lecturer at the Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) of Lund University, Senior Research Fellow in Politics at Kingston University and Senior Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Politics at Portsmouth University. His other books include Nation and Identity in Contemporary Europe (1996, Routledge), Tormented by History: Nationalism in Greece and Turkey (2008, Hurst and Oxford University Press), Islam in Europe: Public Spaces and Civic Networks (2013, Palgrave). He was also co-editor of the 'Islam and Nationalism' Palgrave Macmillan book series (2013-18).
