Middle East studies professors regularly accuse CW and other organizations of “McCarthyism,” an ahistorical, intellectually lazy charge intended to silence critics. Yet days into an ongoing purge of Turkish academics, including 1,500+ deans and four university rectors, the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) has yet to condemn the latest moves by Turkish president Erdogan, whose “moderate Islamism” US profs have long championed as a path to democracy. Will genuine (not imagined) “loyalty oaths” for Turkish academics finally grab MESA’s attention?
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.
