Turkish president Erdogan’s post-coup purges--including almost 1,600 university deans and 24,000 teachers--are putting American profs of Middle East studies in a bind. For years they’ve praised Erdogan precisely for his Islamist credentials. What will they say now that he’s clearly bent on destroying the last remnants of Kemalism and, with it, Turkish civil society? Will they turn a blind eye to mass executions and the formation of an Islamist dictatorship? Academics are now barred from leaving Turkey; will the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) object?
Winfield Myers is managing editor of the Middle East Forum and director of its Campus Watch project, which reviews and critiques Middle East studies in North American universities. He has taught world history and other topics at the University of Michigan, the University of Georgia, Tulane, and Xavier University of Louisiana. He was previously managing editor of The American Enterprise magazine and CEO of Democracy Project, Inc., which he co-founded. Mr. Myers has served as senior editor and communications director at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and is principal author and editor of a college guide, Choosing the Right College (1998, 2001). He was educated at the University of Georgia, Tulane, and the University of Michigan.
