The Islamist connection: MEMO in Conversation with Ezgi Basaran

Middle East Monitor Conversations

What do Turkiye's Justice and Development Party (AKP), Tunisia's Ennahda and the Muslim Brotherhood have in common and are their ties shaping policy in the Middle East and Turkiye? Turkiye's youngest editor joins us to discuss what drives their relationship.

In 2013, at the height of the Gezi Park protests, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a decision that surprised many Turks. He boarded a flight for Tunisia and held a meeting with the Ennahda Party. Many Turkish journalists and observers struggled to understand why, during a time of upheaval, Erdogan would head for North Africa. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has deep ties to Tunisia's Ennahda Party and Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, but what exactly did these ties consist of and what was the relationship between them? A new book 'The New Spirit of Islamism: Interactions between the AKP, Ennahda and the Muslim Brotherhood' delves into how the 3 movements came to be associated with one another, what they share and, more importantly, where they differ. What drives the relationship is not ideology, but pragmatism the book argues. But what exactly does all of that mean? Joining us on MEMO in Conversation is the book's author Ezgi Basaran.
Basaran is a journalist and political scientist from Istanbul who currently lives in Oxford,UK. Her journalistic career began as a reporter, covering various conflict zones and significant global events. Her skill in journalism led to her roles as a columnist and later editor-in-chief of Turkyie’s then largest and most prestigious liberal left daily, making her the youngest editor and the first woman in this position. She wrote extensively on critical issues, including the Kurdish conflict, Middle Eastern politics, human rights violations and freedom of speech. Her investigative work earned her several accolades.
Her first English book, 'Frontline Turkey: The Crisis at the Heart of the Middle East', delves into Turkiye’s Kurdish issue and its regional ramifications. Combining over two decades of experience in journalism with her recent path in academia, Ezgi is committed to unravelling the complexities of Turkish and Middle Eastern politics.