Jeremy Ko
Populist governance poses a profound threat to universities, undermining the autonomy essential to knowledge production. Jeremy Ko and James F. Downes reveal how populist leaders invoking 'the people' against elites consistently reduce academic freedom – and right-wing variants accelerate the decline most sharply Read more
Süleyman Güngör
At Davos 2026, world leaders no longer spoke as architects of a shared international order, but as actors positioning themselves amid its visible unravelling. Assertions of raw sovereignty stood alongside anxious appeals to law, values, and legitimacy. This, says Süleyman Güngör, reveals a global system drifting decisively away from rules, and towards power Read more
Sezen Kaya Sönmez
Turkey's proposed new waterway, 'Canal Istanbul', would connect the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. Sezen Kaya Sönmez describes how the project is about more than just transport, but has geopolitical, ecological, and climate aspects. Digging a new maritime corridor, she argues, threatens environmental resilience, regional stability, and long-term security Read more
İmren Borsuk
Homeland elections – particularly contentious ones – can trigger uprisings among expatriate populations. But as migrants organise protests from afar, home-country governments are increasingly developing ways to push back against them. İmren Borsuk explores how dissent travels among Turkey’s emigrants, and how the Turkish regime is responding across borders Read more
Gülşen Doğan
Gülşen Doğan describes how charismatic leadership, propaganda, and a commitment to stable governance are behind the rise of autocratic populists. Read more
Giorgos Venizelos
'Populism' and 'power' have an uneasy relationship. Key texts reveal three assumptions about populism's 'fate' in power: first, it becomes mainstream; second, it turns authoritarian; third, it fails/succeeds to implement policies. Giorgos Venizelos argues we must look beyond the myths about populism's content or outcomes, and turn instead to populism's function of constructing collective identities through discursive / affective performativity Read more
Pelin Ayan Musil
In the 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections, Turkish opposition parties suffered catastrophic defeat. Several factors contributed to their surprise victory in the recent local elections. Pelin Ayan Musil and Sultan Tepe argue that shifting from alliance to party-centred competition gave opposition parties a striking advantage – and laid bare the vulnerabilities of President Erdoğan’s political strategies Read more
Hakkı Taş
Recent data indicates that countries led by more populist leaders are less likely to have a military with veto power. Hakkı Taş explores the populist centralisation of power that fosters control over the military, and the impact on civilian oversight Read more
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