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Reposted by Selim Koru

Sarah Parkinson @separkinson.bsky.social · 3d

Visiting in 2023, I was shocked that expensive restaurants in Beirut & the Shouf were still full. The friend who took me to one figured the wealth was all remittances & currency speculation. To him, the rich will coast until the bottom finally drops out for them too, when those left will also leave.

Erin A. Snider @erinsnider.bsky.social · 3d

“Two countries are living on top of each other, one buffered by generators, drivers and imported everything, the other left to negotiate survival in the margins. What’s most unsettling isn’t how shocking it feels, but how routine it is. Just like we speed through intersections without looking.”

Opinion | The Chaos of Driving in Lebanon Tells a Story of a Country Unraveled

www.nytimes.com

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Selim Koru @selimkoru.bsky.social · 6d

But yeah, there is constantly this desire at the top to push beyond narrow national identity and command empires. I'm not sure people in these countries feel the same way. Feelings in Turkey are certainly very mixed, mostly in favor of the nation.

Kevin Rothrock @kevinrothrock.me · 6d

Putin's remarks today in Valdai are all pretty familiar, but one thing more Westerners ought to appreciate is his repetition of his fundamentally multiethnic philosophy of Russian nationalism/patriotism. "Russians are those who love and serve Russia," Putin just said, quoting Peter the Great.

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Selim Koru @selimkoru.bsky.social · 6d

I think it's important to look at the movements rather than trying to guess at the tastes of the man in charge. I can't think of a non-ethnic Russian leading after Putin, just as I don't see a Kurd taking over from Erdoğan. It wouldn't work.

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Reposted by Selim Koru

I.B. Tauris @ibtauris.bsky.social · 9d

🎙️ Author @selimkoru.bsky.social joins @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social to discuss his book 'New Turkey and the Far Right' — a deep dive into #nationalism, #authoritarianism, and political transformation in Erdoğan’s #Turkey.

🔗 Listen here: newbooksnetwork.com/new-turkey-a...
#Turkiye #Politics #Erdogan

Selim Koru, "New Turkey and the Far Right: How Reactionary Nationalism Remade a Country" (I. B. Tauris, 2025) - New Books Network

newbooksnetwork.com

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Turkey recap @turkeyrecap.bsky.social · 11d

"New Turkey and the Far Right: How Reactionary Nationalism Remade a Country" with @selimkoru.bsky.social and @reubensilverman.bsky.social. [2/5]

Selim Koru, "New Turkey and the Far Right: How Reactionary Nationalism Remade a Country" (I. B. Tauris, 2025) - New Books Network

newbooksnetwork.com

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Selim Koru @selimkoru.bsky.social · 13d

Yeah, I'm with Jim here.

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Reposted by Selim Koru

Nicholas Danforth @nicholasdanfort.bsky.social · 14d

Benny Gantz conveniently confirming what critics of Israel have long argued - the problem isn't just Netanyahu

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/o...

Opinion | What the World Gets Wrong About Israel

www.nytimes.com

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Selim Koru @selimkoru.bsky.social · 13d

Agreed. I always wondered why there isn't more of this.

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Selim Koru @selimkoru.bsky.social · 14d

I talked about my book on far-right Turkish politics with @reubensilverman.bsky.social! newbooksnetwork.com/new-turkey-a...

Selim Koru, "New Turkey and the Far Right: How Reactionary Nationalism Remade a Country" (I. B. Tauris, 2025) - New Books Network

newbooksnetwork.com

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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 15d

That tracks for me.

I thought it was either (a) wishful thinking of the Eurasianist sort or (b) a clumsy attempt to show that Turkey has "options" in advance of the Erdoğan/Trump meeting.

Possibly both.

Clément Plaisant @cplaisant.bsky.social · 15d

An interesting paper by Barçın Yinanç, which analyses Bahçeli's call for a Turkey-China-Russia alliance from the perspective of Turkish-Chinese relations. She concludes that this proposal is not credible given Ankara's lack of engagement with Beijing.
t24.com.tr/yazarlar/bar...

Çin’de otel odamın kapısına polis dayanınca "TRÇ" diyeymişim

Geçen hafta davetli olarak gittiğim Çin’de, üçüncü günümde tam yatmaya hazırlanırken polis kapıma dayandı. Daha MHP lideri Devlet Bahçeli Türkiye-Rusya-Çin ittifakını önermemişti. Yoksa “Durun biz dos...

t24.com.tr

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Reposted by Selim Koru

Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 19d

Some wise advice on your academia.edu account.

It's probably time to delete it.

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Selim Koru @selimkoru.bsky.social · 20d

Yeah, it got attention all right. Here is the author, reviewing it: www.h-net.org/reviews/show...

www.h-net.org

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Borners @borners.bsky.social · 20d

Interesting citation of "Ottoman constitutionalism" fitting into Turkey's modern republican tradition. But I do wonder if behind it lies some legacy of what Anthony Kaldellis called "The Byzantine republic".

Selim Koru @selimkoru.bsky.social · 20d

If regicide is the foundation of republicanism, Turkey's republic should be solid.

The Roots of Turkish Republicanism

A new book argues that Turkey’s republican culture goes deeper than we thought

kulturkampftr.substack.com

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Selim Koru @selimkoru.bsky.social · 20d

niiice

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Nicholas Danforth @nicholasdanfort.bsky.social · 21d

My latest from @foreignpolicy.com

"Just recently, Turkey stood out for its repeated assaults on international norms. Now, those norms have been shattered by a host of bigger and more aggressive actors, and Turkey looks almost calm in comparison.

foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/17/t...

Erdogan’s Irredentism Just Can’t Keep Up

As international norms crumble, Turkey’s revisionist policies appear less provocative in comparison.

foreignpolicy.com

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Reposted by Selim Koru

Piero Castellano 🇪🇺 @pierocastellano.com · 21d

Last month I rode my motorbike in the depths of (Western) Turkey and I half-joked that I crossed villages where people haven't heard of the Republic yet. As on cue @selimkoru.bsky.social analyzes the politics of that visceral feeling in the current context
kulturkampftr.substack.com/p/we-are-des...

The Roots of Turkish Republicanism

A new book argues that Turkey’s republican culture goes deeper than we thought

kulturkampftr.substack.com

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Selim Koru @selimkoru.bsky.social · 20d

If regicide is the foundation of republicanism, Turkey's republic should be solid.

The Roots of Turkish Republicanism

A new book argues that Turkey’s republican culture goes deeper than we thought

kulturkampftr.substack.com

1

Selim Koru @selimkoru.bsky.social · 20d

I think it's a long-term issue. Generational.

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Selim Koru @selimkoru.bsky.social · 20d

what kind of bike?

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FredRIK WORTHam 🎃 @rikworth.bsky.social · 22d

Pets Tell Tales: Ancient Rome might have a little something to say about tyrants, fascists and empire.

Art/Lettering by @jordancollver.bsky.social

Words by Calcagus, enemy of Rome

An illustrated Magpie quote Tacitus/Calcagus

ROMANS, FROM WHOSE OPPRESSION ESCAPE IS VAINLY SOUGHT
BY OBEDIENCE AND SUBMISSION. ROBBERS OF THE WORLD, HAVING BY THEIR UNIVERSAL PLUNDER EXHAUSTED THE LAND, THEY RIFLE THE DEEP. IF THE ENEMY BE RICH, THEY ARE RAPACIOUS. IF HE BE POOR, THEY LUST FOR DOMINION.
NEITHER THE EAST NOR THE WEST HAS BEEN
ABLE TO SATISFY THEM. ALONE AMONG MEN THEY COVET WITH EQUAL EAGERNESS POVERTY AND RICHES. TO ROBBERY, SLAUGHTER, PLUNDER, THEY GIVE THE LYING NAME OF EMPIRE;
THEY MAKE A SOLITUDE AND CALL
IT PEACE.
*

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Selim Koru @selimkoru.bsky.social · 22d

Hadn't thought of that. Maybe it's time to change it. Thanks!

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Selim Koru @selimkoru.bsky.social · 24d

I am worried about this payments thing though. Part of the appeal of substack is that you own your own platform and can leave if you want to. I certainly don't want to be locked into it.

So thanks for pointing this out!

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Selim Koru @selimkoru.bsky.social · 24d

Thank you, will take this into consideration.

I'm not too worried about the Nazi angle. I think it's genuinely just a feature of it being an open platform rather than part of it (as in, say, X). Also, there's a lot of great anti-fascist content on Substack.

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Selim Koru @selimkoru.bsky.social · 27d

Thanks Ant! And I completely agree, any account of European politics isn't complete without an understanding of Turkey.

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Ant Breach @antbreach.bsky.social · 29d

Very excited to see my favourite Substack is going full time. If you're interested in Euro politics then you should be spending more time trying to understand Turkey. I've already learned lots from @selimkoru.bsky.social and you can too if you subscribe below: open.substack.com/pub/kulturka...

Re-launch

I'm going full-time

open.substack.com

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