İkinci Kürt açılımı (!)

Bu yazıyı 23 Haziran Pazar günü Barselona-İstanbul uçağında yazmaya başladım. Uçakta internet olmadığı için ikinci İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediye Başkanlığı seçimini kimin kazandığını bilmiyordum. Havaalanı çıkışı sloganlar ve taksi kornaları eşliğinde dans edenleri görünce herhalde Türk milli takımı Fransa’yı bir daha yendi; taraftarlar onları karşılamaya geldi sandım. Bindiğim taksinin şoförü “Abi nasıl [biiiip]! 340.000 oy fark!” […]

Turkey’s elections, or breaking out of “the human crisis”

In my previous article, I referred to Albert Camus’ 1946 Columbia University lecture entitled “The Human Crisis” and recounted the four short stories he used to describe this crisis. To recapitulate briefly, Camus argues that there is a human crisis, as evidenced by the moral decline that made possible the tragedies experienced in World War […]

On Swedishness, stoicism and drama queens

Stoic, n. and adj. “One who practises repression of emotion, indifference to pleasure or pain, and patient endurance”… Drama queen, n., “A person who overreacts to a minor setback or who is prone to exaggeratedly dramatic behaviour; (also) a person who thrives on being the centre of attention.” The way they are defined by Oxford […]

Trapped in Sweden

I came to Sweden several times between 2007 and 2011, even spent a few months working in both Lund and Malmö. It was only in September 2011, however, that I have come to stay for longer than a few months, initially for a year, without having a clue that I would end up settling here. […]