Istanbul, City of the Fearless - by Christopher Houston Paperback

About the Book

"Based on extensive field research in Turkey, Istanbul, City of the Fearless explores social movements and the broader practices of civil society in Istanbul in the critical years before and after the 1980 military coup, the defining event in the neoliberal re-engineering of the city. Bringing together developments in anthropology, urban studies, cultural geography, and social theory, it offers new insights into the meaning and study of urban violence, military rule, activism and spatial tactics, relations between political fractions and ideologies, and political memory/commemoration. Its theoretical and conceptual contributions have implications far beyond its particular focus on Istanbul"--

Book Synopsis

Based on extensive field research in Turkey, Istanbul, City of the Fearless explores social movements and the broader practices of civil society in Istanbul in the critical years before and after the 1980 military coup, the defining event in the neoliberal reengineering of the city. Bringing together developments in anthropology, urban studies, cultural geography, and social theory, Christopher Houston offers new insights into the meaning and study of urban violence, military rule, activism and spatial tactics, relations between political factions and ideologies, and political memory and commemoration. This book is both a social history and an anthropological study, investigating how activist practices and the coup not only contributed to the globalization of Istanbul beginning in the 1980s but also exerted their force and influence into the future.

From the Back Cover

"A groundbreaking study of the revolutionary turmoil in Istanbul between 1974 and 1983. It integrates historiographic and ethnographic methods, provides an edifying historical and sociological background to the events of this period, and makes a significant contribution to a phenomenological approach to history and politics, particularly the vital links between ideological struggles, spatial practices, social imaginaries, and social memory."--Michael Jackson, author of The Politics of Storytelling: Variations on a Theme by Hannah Arendt

"An eloquent and engaging book on spatial politics. It is exceptional not only in its discussion of activists' political-spatial practices and how these shaped Istanbul's urban landscape, but also in its analytical approach to studying the relation between urban political activism and the social production of the city. Bringing together a robust theoretical framework with in-depth empirical research, this has the potential to become a reference book in urban political activism."--Joost Jongerden, Associate Professor, Do-It-Yourself Development, Wageningen University

Review Quotes

"Istanbul, City of the Fearless is a book that transcends disciplinary boundaries, and is useful as an exemplary framework to study political life and affect in contemporary Istanbul, as well as in other similarly complex geographies."

-- "International Journal of Middle East Studies"

About the Author

Christopher Houston is Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Macquarie University in Sydney. He is the author of Kurdistan: Crafting of National Selves and Islam, Kurds and the Turkish Nation-State.