Turkish Politics and ‘The People’

In this excellent book, Sofos critically explores the ways the notion of the people, and the allied notions of the national and the plebeian/vernacular have been shaped by the history of the Turkish republic. He elegantly shows us how these very notions have informed ways of envisaging society and politics in Turkey by taking us on a journey through Turkish political history from the end of the Ottoman era to the reign of the AKP. He meticulously elucidates the transformations of the people during one hundred years of republican politics and gauges the ramifications of the populist turn in Turkey’s political trajectories. The book situates Turkey’s experience with populism in broader literatures by showing its unique aspects as well as commonalities with other cases all around the world. No one has shown us the continuities and changes in Turkish populism from this perspective before. -- Bahar Baser, Associate Professor in Middle East Politics, Durham University
[...] Sofos’s emphasis on the distinction between “the people” and “the nation” and its impact on Turkish politics and society is a welcome addition to the discussion and is recommended to students of Turkish politics and nation building in general. -- H. Shambayati * CHOICE *
Those who founded a republic in succession to the Ottoman Empire a century ago did so in the names of the Turkish people and/or nation. What did they mean by those names? Are their meanings the same? What kind of politics is seen as best representing them? Sofos argues that for the entire history of the Turkish republic, political discourse and action has been dominated by populism which, although changing over time, has constantly forestalled the development of democratic and liberal institutions. -- John Breuilly, Emeritus Professor, London School of Economics
[This book] is successful in its effort to illuminate the history of Republican Turkey through the lens of populism. -- Marc Martorell * MANARA Magazine *
This is an impressive volume [...] a rich work and an impressive piece of scholarship, one that deserves and no doubt will acquire a wide readership among those interested in Turkey’s political development. -- Paul Kubicek * Turkish Studies *
Turkish Politics and ‘the People’ is a very exceptional scholarly enterprise illustrating the historical links between intellectual realms and practical politics that facilitated the extraordinary importance of populism in Turkey, especially throughout the republican period. -- Toygar Sinan Baykan, Kırklareli Üniversitesi * Populism 7 (2024) *