On 15 October, 2024, Ezgi Basaran (St Antony’s College, Oxford, presented her latest book, The New Spirit of Islamism: Interactions between the AKP, Ennahda, and the Muslim Brotherhood, at a joint event hosted by Middle East Centre and the European Studies Centre at St Antony’s College, Oxford. As Michael Willis (St Antony’s College) noted in his introduction, the book evolved from her PhD research and offers a fresh perspective on Islamist movements. Ezgi’s background as a journalist uniquely equipped her to uncover the often hidden dynamics between these groups, which she examines through a blend of academic rigor and accessible storytelling.
Shifts in Turkey and its role on the global stageEzgi began her talk by reflecting on her time with the Contemporary Turkey Programme at South East European Studies at Oxford (SEESOX) nearly a decade ago, when there was still a glimmer of hope that Turkey might align itself more closely with Europe. However, the political landscape has shifted dramatically since then, both in Turkey and globally. As she pointed out, Turkey today finds itself at increasingly fraught crossroads between Europe and the Middle East, which mirrors the broader complexities of regional politics.
Unpacking Orientalism and Islamism One of the central themes of Ezgi’s book is how Orientalism continues to shape Western attitudes toward the Middle East. She emphasized that the West’s selective outrage toward conflicts in the region reveals deeply ingrained biases. This ties directly into how Islamism is often framed—either as a failure or as an ideological threat. Her research challenges these simplistic narratives by showing that Islamist movements like Turkey's AKP (Justice and Development Party), Tunisia's Ennahda, and Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood are much more than ideological actors. They are political players operating within a neoliberal global order, seeking success and legitimacy in practical, not purely ideological, terms.
