Spyros Sofos

Who speaks for Iran?—and from where? – Spectre Journal Nazanin Shahrokni rethinks the meaning of transnational solidarity, understood as a political intervention stretched across an uneven geopolitical landscape.

While Iranians endure domestic repression & external militarism the "opposition" abroad cheer & send praise to Trump. Nazanin Shahrokni asks: who speaks for “the People,” from where & with what responsibility toward those who must live with the consequences? spectrejournal.com/who-speaks-f...

Μπορεί η νίκη του Ερχουρμάν στη Βόρεια Κύπρο να ανοίξει τον δρόμο για την επανένωση του νησιού; Αυτή μπορεί να είναι η τελευταία ευκαιρία των Κυπρίων να διασφαλίσουν ότι τα πολλά εμπόδια που τους χωρίζουν για περισσότερα από 50 χρόνια θα καταργηθούν.

Μπορεί η νίκη του Τουφάν Ερχουρμάν στη Β.Κύπρο να ανοίξει τον δρόμο για την επανένωση του νησιού; Άρθρο μου στο Inside Story
Ένα θέμα που παραμένει κομβικό στην Αν. Μεσόγειο & που συζητώ στο βιβλίο μου Turkey, Geopolitics & the Age of Populism (Routledge 2026)
insidestory.gr/article/mpor...

Can a pro-federation win in Northern Cyprus revive the island’s stalled reunification? The recent election in Northern Cyprus of a pro-unification Turkish Cypriot may be the last chance for the island to unite.

My new @ca.theconversation.com article asks
Can a pro-federation win in Northern #Cyprus revive the island’s stalled reunification?
theconversation.com/can-a-pro-fe...

A timely issue in East Med politics also explored in my forthcoming book Turkey, Geopolitics & the Age of Populism (Routledge 2026)

Tufan Erhürman was elected TRNC President with nearly 63%. A moment of truth for the the Republic of Cyprus, which will reveal whether it chooses to align with Erdoğan in undermining prospects for peace - or finally put their money where their mouth is & support genuine reconciliation.

カタール攻撃の目的は「アメリカ外交の乗っ取り」？　イスラエルが戦争の常態化を望む理由とは ＜カタールは中東問題の仲介役のような立ち位置であり、アメリカはその役割を後押ししていた＞ 単なる「武装組織への攻撃」にとどまらない出来事だった。イスラエル軍は9月9日、パレスチナ自治区ガザでの停戦を協...

イスラエルによるカタール攻撃が中東の平和と米国の影響力を蝕む」と題した私の記事が『ニューズウィーク日本版』に日本語で掲載されました！
www.newsweekjapan.jp/stories/worl...

Large white text overlaying a purple, orange, and pink background that reads Q&A INFORMATION SESSION. In smaller text reads JACK AND DORIS SHADBOLT FELLOWSHIP IN THE HUMANITIES. SEPTEMBER 25, 2025.

📤 Interested in applying to the @sfu.ca Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellowship in the Humanities?

Join us at the virtual Q&A information session on September 25 moderated by Clint Burnham from @sfuenglish.bsky.social along with a former Shadbolt Fellow.

Register at: tinyurl.com/3486c9ph

How Israel’s attack on Qatar erodes peace — and American influence — in the Middle East Israel’s strike on Qatar undermines diplomacy, casts doubt on U.S. security guarantees and entrenches a state of permanent war in the Middle East.

One more piece of mine on Israel's (and Netanyahu's) militaristic revisionism and its perils that might be of interest to members of this group. This time exploring the implications of its Qatar bombing. theconversation.com/how-israels-...

Syria as a Battleground: How Israel and Turkey Are Shaping a Fragmented Middle East - Middle East Centre As Israel and Turkey entrench themselves further in Syria’s geography and political future, the question is not whether Syria will be whole again, but whether the Middle East can avoid becoming a regi...

My piece for the @LSEMiddleEast blog:
“Syria as a Battleground: How Israel & Turkey Are Shaping a Fragmented Middle East” discussing how #Syria’s northern & Southern neighbours are reshaping the country's & the region's future #Israel #Turkey #revisionism blogs.lse.ac.uk/mec/2025/08/...

We are thrilled to welcome our incoming Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellows! They were chosen from an outstanding pool of candidates, and we can’t wait to see the impact their fascinating projects will make.

Israel’s attack on Syria: Protecting the Druze minority or a regional power play? Israel’s strikes in Syria, framed as protecting the Druze, reflect a strategy to fragment the Syrian state and secure Israel’s role as the dominant regional power.

This Saturday's IDF raid on southern Syria—violating the UN ceasefire—had nothing to do with humanitarian concern & everything to do with Netanyahu’s Machtpolitik and the strategic fragmentation of Syria. #Syria #Israel #Netanyahu #MiddleEast #Druze theconversation.com/israels-atta...

Tensions high as new violence spirals in Syria’s Suwayda despite ceasefire State media says armed groups violated the truce agreed in the predominantly Druze region.

www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/...

Israel’s attack on Syria: Protecting the Druze minority or a regional power play? Israel’s strikes in Syria, framed as protecting the Druze, reflect a strategy to fragment the Syrian state and secure Israel’s role as the dominant regional power.

Israel’s aggressive revisionism seeks to violently reshape the Middle East.
This is my second piece in The Conversation on its escalating strikes in Syria, its claim to protect the Druze, and the broader fallout in the Middle East.
🔗 theconversation.com/israels-atta...

How Israel’s domestic crises and Netanyahu’s aim to project power are reshaping the Middle East Israel’s military actions —in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and now Iran — reflect the melding of Benjamin Netanyahu’s domestic political survival and his revisionist aims to reshape the regional order.

My recent @ca.theconversation.com piece on Israel's revisionist Machtpolitik stresses its role as an active architect of a fragmented regional future remapping of Syria & the wider Middle East through the putative protection of local actors such as the Druze theconversation.com/how-israels-...

Frontiers | “Populism at home, revisionism in the world”: the case of Turkey's peacemaking engagement in a changing world order Populism has emerged as a transformative force in global politics, questioning the legitimacy of liberal democratic institutions and reshaping the contours o...

My “Populism at Home, #Revisionism in the World” in Frontiers in Political Science|#Turkey’s #peacemaking in #Somalia shows how populist logic extends to #internationalpolitics challenging liberal norms & projecting sovereignty & anti-institutionalism #populism
www.frontiersin.org/journals/pol...

How Israel's Domestic Crises and Netanyahu's Power Projection are Reshaping the Middle East By Spyros A. Sofos, Simon Fraser University (The Conversation) - Israel’s recent strikes on Iranian territory have been widely framed as an act of deterrence or yet another episode in a protracted reg...

www.juancole.com/2025/06/neta...

How Israel’s domestic crises and Netanyahu’s aim to project power are reshaping the Middle East Israel’s military actions —in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and now Iran — reflect the melding of Benjamin Netanyahu’s domestic political survival and his revisionist aims to reshape the regional order.

"I believe the world is watching the convergence of a domestic political crisis & a profound strategic shift as Israel evolves into a more aggressive entity in a fragmented international order"| My article in the Conversation Canada | theconversation.com/how-israels-...

How Israel’s domestic crises and Netanyahu’s aim to project power are reshaping the Middle East Israel’s military actions —in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and now Iran — reflect the melding of Benjamin Netanyahu’s domestic political survival and his revisionist aims to reshape the regional order.

Today on TheConversation Canada my two cents on the convergence of a domestic political crisis & a profound strategic shift as Israel evolves into a more unchecked aggressive actor in a fragmented international order
@sfuhumanities.bsky.social @sfufass.bsky.social theconversation.com/how-israels-...

From my forthcoming "Populism at Home, Revisionism in the World": Populist rule knows no borders. In Erdoğan’s Turkey, peacemaking becomes a tool of global disruption—fusing humanitarianism with anticolonial rhetoric & sovereign assertion.
#Turkey #Populism #Revisionism #Somalia

Camp TURKSOM in Mogadishu

Thrilled to share that my book Turkey, Geopolitics & the Age of Populism, exploring Turkey’s populism & international revisionism will be published by Routledge in early 2026 Based on research at @lsemiddleeast.bsky.social & @sfufass.bsky.social & supported by @peacerep.bsky.social & SSHRC.

Nisan'da Avrupa Popülizm Çalışmaları Merkezi'nden Selçuk Gültaslı ile Türkiye'nin devam etmekte olan siyasi dönüşümü ve otoriter popülizmin daha geniş etkileri hakkında konuşma fırsatım oldu.
📷 Watch now → 📷 populismstudies.org/dr-sofos-the...

Dr. Sofos: The More Rigid the Erdogan Regime Becomes, the Easier It May Break - ECPS In a timely and far-reaching interview with the European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS), Dr. Spyros Sofos—Assistant Professor in Global Humanities at

“Erdoğan rejimi ne kadar katılaşırsa, o kadar kolay kırılabilir.”
Türkiye’deki güncel siyasal gelişmeleri @PopulismCentre için değerlendirdim. #Türkiye #Erdoğan #Popülizm #Otoriterlik #ECPS
👉 www.populismstudies.org/dr-sofos-the...

Dr. Sofos: The More Rigid the Erdogan Regime Becomes, the Easier It May Break - ECPS In a timely and far-reaching interview with the European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS), Dr. Spyros Sofos—Assistant Professor in Global Humanities at

I spoke to Selçuk Gültaşlı from The European Center for Populism Studies about Turkey’s current political trajectory.
Read the interview 👉 populismstudies.org/dr-sofos-the...
#Turkey #Erdogan #Populism #Authoritarianism #ECPS

Sami Zubaida was an intellectual giant, a kind soul & a true bon vivant. His brilliant mind shaped Middle Eastern studies & his passion for food & lively conversations brought people together. He challenged imperialist narratives with nuance & humanity. You will be missed Sami!

クルド停戦はなぜ突然動き始めたのか？...「唐突な和解ムード」の背景からエルドアンがちらり ＜分離独立を求めてきたPKKが停戦を宣言。エルドアンの「野心」について＞ イスラム教スンニ派が多数を占めるトルコでラマダン（断食月）が始まった3月1日、武装組織クルド労働者党（PKK）が停戦を発表した...

📢 New Article Newsweek Japan! 🇹🇷📰
I explore the peace process between Ankara & the Kurdish movement, political stakes & what it means for the region’s future
newsweekjapan.jp/stories/worl...
#Turkey #KurdishIssue #Peace #NewsweekJapan
@sfufass.bsky.social

クルド停戦はなぜ突然動き始めたのか？...「唐突な和解ムード」の背景からエルドアンがちらり ＜分離独立を求めてきたPKKが停戦を宣言。エルドアンの「野心」について＞ イスラム教スンニ派が多数を占めるトルコでラマダン（断食月）が始まった3月1日、武装組織クルド労働者党（PKK）が停戦を発表した...

📢 Newsweek日本版に掲載！ 🇹🇷📰
アンカラとクルド運動の和平プロセスについて分析し、その政治的影響と地域の未来への意味を探ります。

日本語での記事はこちら👇
newsweekjapan.jp/stories/worl...
#トルコ #クルド問題 #和平プロセス #中東 #NewsweekJapan #政治

What’s behind Erdoğan’s calculated shift on Kurds and its potential consequences Erdoğan’s outreach to Kurdish forces may signal peace — or a bid to secure support for extending his presidency by fracturing the opposition’s coalition.

"Erdoğan is once again engaging with Kurdish political forces—but is this a real shift or just another power play? What’s at stake for Turkey’s future?" 🇹🇷

🔗 Read my latest in The Conversation:

theconversation.com/whats-behind...

#Turkey #KurdishIssue #Erdoğan #Politics #Kurdishissue

What’s behind Erdoğan’s calculated shift on Kurds and its potential consequences Erdoğan’s outreach to Kurdish forces may signal peace — or a bid to secure support for extending his presidency by fracturing the opposition’s coalition.

New in theconversationca.bsky.social: My latest piece explores Erdoğan’s overtures to Kurdish political forces—genuine shift or strategic power play? 🇹🇷

🔗 Read here: theconversation.com/whats-behind...

#Turkey #KurdishIssue #Erdoğan #Politics

From a memorable and thought provoking Materialities of Populist Politics Conference - Leuphana Institute for Advanced Studies (LIAS) in Culture and Society
Leuphana University Lüneburg

Turkish Politics and 'the People' by Spyros A. Sofos | Waterstones Buy Turkish Politics and 'the People' by Spyros A. Sofos from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.

If you are interested in the complexities of Turkish politics, populism, and mass mobilisation, check out my *Turkish Politics and the People* book. Now out in paperback too. Only £19.99 @waterstones.bsky.social www.waterstones.com/book/turkish...

ECPS - Mapping Global Populism

Panel XVII: The Rise and Reign of Autocratic Populism and Islamist Nationalism in Turkey