Is Turkey Ready for Change?

Feb 4, 2020

1:30pm - 3:30pm

Lecture by:
Gavin Brockett

Since 2002, Turkish politics have been dominated by one party and one man: The Justice and Development Party and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. What began as the widely applauded exercise of democracy in a country that had long struggled with military authoritarianism, has now become a much criticized abuse of electoral office through populist manipulation. In the midst of regional instability and internal challenges, Erdoğan has defied his critics and only increased his hold on power, combining an appeal to both nationalist and religious sensibilities. Yet recent elections in Istanbul suggest that change is on the horizon and that gradually a new politics is emerging.

About The Lecturer

Gavin Brockett

Gavin Brockett received his doctoral training as a historian in the interdisciplinary Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago (2003). Prior to that, he studied at Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria.

His teaching and research are integrally connected. In the classroom, he explores methods by which to inspire and assist students to actively engage and learn about people in parts of the world that seems very distant to young Canadians today. His desire is to ignite interest in and empathy for the peoples and cultures of the Middle East as well as Muslims in many parts of the world as we explore contemporary experiences from a historical perspective. In the context of what can seem to be mind-boggling developments across the Middle East, he is interested not just in making sense of significant political developments and transformations but equally in the experiences of ordinary women, men and children who contribute to these changes while also enduring their consequences.