Turkey is a nation of contradictions and contrasts. Though considered democratic, the Erdogan government has increasingly begun to resemble a dictatorship, jailing it opponents and violently suppressing dissent. And though Turkey is notionally secular, the Justice and Development Party’s power has fed the creeping influence of religious conservatism, with figures in the party denouncing abortion rights and attempting to criminalize adultery. Having long occupied an uneasy middle ground between a secular West and Islamic East, Turkey has been drawn into the conflicts of its neighbors, including the Arab Spring, the Syrian civil war, and the rise of ISIS. In this fascinating portrait of a nation in turmoil, the renowned Turkish journalist and novelist Ece Temelkuran provides a vivid and deeply personal account of the crisis afflicting modern Turkey.

Temelkuran identifies a long-running culture of repression and authoritarianism that has plagued Turkey throughout its history, a culture she traces back to the fall of the Ottomans and the continued climate of denial around the Armenian genocide. But, she firmly believes there is still a strong voice of dissent in Turkey, and she argues that the Gezi Park protests of 2013 represented a glimmer of hope that has not yet been fully extinguished and may still grow to rejuvenate democracy in the country. Providing unique insight into Turkey’s ongoing political turmoil, this is a timely look at a country that is caught at the center of many of the changes and much of the turmoil of the Middle East today.

作者簡介

艾婕．泰梅爾古蘭Ece Temelkuran

擅長紀實報導,風格犀利,經常觸動當局敏感神經,是土耳其最受歡迎的政治專欄作家。文章常見於英國衛報、德國法蘭克福評論報、柏林人報、法國世界報等一線媒體。她住過黎巴嫩、突尼西亞等國,小說與紀實報導均處理高度受爭議的庫德族與亞美尼亞衝突、女權意識等,被多次選為「最多讀者的記者」、「前十大重要社交媒體人」。此外,她也出版了十數本調查報導書,並於2008 年榮獲土耳其人權協會頒發艾雪．札拉寇盧自由思想獎。

艾婕與許多文人相同,為了不觸及危險議題,她後期多半出版小說。但多年的記者訓練讓她明白寫作不可能永遠避開自己的國家,也養成了抽絲剝繭、直指病灶的習慣。

譯者簡介

紀耀凱

土耳其海峽大學翻譯學研究所碩士、美國威斯康辛大學課程與教學系世界語言教育組博士生。曾任政治大學土耳其語文學系講師。

黃楷君

政大阿拉伯語文學系、廣播電視學系畢業,曾任出版社編輯。大學時期在埃及晃蕩過十個月,因此對語言的力量深信不疑,熱愛以文字、影像感受世界與自我。現為自由編譯。

e-mail: kaichunhg289@gmail.com