Spyros Sofos
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sasofos.bsky.social
Spyros Sofos
@sasofos.bsky.social

@SFU Assistant Professor @HumanitiesSfu | Refugee from X conflict•insecurity•identity•populism•nationalism•Muslims in Europe & N America | edits http://rethinkingpopulism.net

Political science 57%
Sociology 25%

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...
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.
insidestory.gr

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)
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.
theconversation.com

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.

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...
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...
www.newsweekjapan.jp

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-...
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.
theconversation.com

Reposted by Spyros Sofos

📤 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

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/...
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...
blogs.lse.ac.uk

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.
Introducing the 2025-2026 Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellows in the Humanities!

🌟 Their projects range from relationships to land and architecture in Indigenous and Chinese-Canadian perspectives, to auditory and visual performances around community and belonging.

Read more: tinyurl.com/3dx4pu4j

Reposted by Spyros Sofos

Introducing the 2025-2026 Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellows in the Humanities!

🌟 Their projects range from relationships to land and architecture in Indigenous and Chinese-Canadian perspectives, to auditory and visual performances around community and belonging.

Read more: tinyurl.com/3dx4pu4j

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...
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.
theconversation.com

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...
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.
theconversation.com

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-...
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.
theconversation.com

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...
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...
www.frontiersin.org

"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.
theconversation.com

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-...
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.
theconversation.com

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

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...

“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
www.populismstudies.org

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
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
populismstudies.org

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!

📢 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
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...
newsweekjapan.jp

"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.
theconversation.com

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
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.
theconversation.com

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

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...
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.
www.waterstones.com

ECPS - Mapping Global Populism

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