Since the early 2000s, Turkey has been obliged to fulfill important requirements in the field of human rights as part of the Europeanization process. A historically nationalist and repressive state, the country has recently been making progress in this field. However, according to EU progress reports, a lot more is required especially in regards to anti-discrimination and minority rights laws. Kally Zarali highly recommends Minorities and Nationalism in Turkish Law as an interesting and in-depth historical overview of the case of minority rights and diversity.
Minorities and Nationalism in Turkish Law. Derya Bayir. Ashgate. 2013.
Turkey was granted the status of EU-candidate country in 1999. Since then, and while negotiations and relations with the EU have gone through various phases, the country remains on the path of Europeanization and harmonization with the Enlargement requirements. At the same time, the emergence of AKP, the moderate Islamist party of Tayip Erdogan, and its dominance in political life since 2002, has brought about important changes in the governance of the country and also in its profile and role in the region and the world. In comparison to other Muslim countries of the region still striving to find their internal and external balances after the Arab Spring, Turkey is regarded as a stable and rising economic power, experiencing constant and peaceful democratization. This process however is not as rapid and far-reaching as one would expect, and thus most of the malfunctions of a historically nationalist society are still present, especially in the field of human and minority rights.
Derya Bayir focuses on the Turkish legal system and judiciary and their roles in the formation, interpretation, and implementation of policies on diversity and the management of minorities in the country. Through extensive and meticulous examination of parliamentary papers, laws, and judicial decisions the author composes the meaning of the terms “Turk” and “Turkish nation” throughout history, and describes eloquently the repressive and assimilative practices that have been used against minorities by the Turkish state in the name of Turkish nationalism.



The Population of the UK. Daniel Dorling. Sage. November 2012.
The Roman Market Economy. Peter Temin. Princeton University Press. October 2012.
The Policy Press Prize for Most-Read Review in Sociology and Anthropology: Margherita Margiotti
The Palgrave Macmillan Prize for Most-Read Review in Politics: Ioannis Papagaryfallou
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The Oxford University Press Prize for Most-Read Review in Economics: Ting Xu
The Princeton University Press Prize for Most-Read Review in International Development: Janet Hunter
The Ashgate Prize for Most-Read Review in Architecture and Urban Studies: Ben Campkin
The MIT Press Prize for Most Prolific Reviewer: Paul Brighton











Political Parties in Palestine is an up-to-date elucidation of the Palestinian political landscape, aiming to offer vital background information on movements such as Hamas and Fatah, as well as smaller political factions that have defined the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades but, due to lack of available information, have not been subject to academic scrutiny. Michael Bröning’s book is an unquestionably important contribution to the study of Palestinian politics, and a must-read for anyone who hopes to better understand both intra-Palestinian political dynamics, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, writes Ilana Rothkopf.
Holes in The Whole seeks meaning and reasons for the existence of the city. Krzysztof Nawratek discusses the urgent need to expand the sphere of urban activity – to define the city not only as a territory of exploitation, but as space of human existence in its fullest dimension. Treating the city as primarily a political entity to be re-invented offers a welcome contrast to much urban analysis that takes for granted and fails to challenge dominant forms of political economy, writes Karl Baker.
Holes in the Whole: Introduction to the Urban Revolutions. Krzysztof Nawratek. Zero Books.
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