Ece Temelkuran: how to lose a country?

The political madness in Turkey, Brazil and the United States might seem far away and inconceivable in our own Western European societies. Turkish author and journalist Ece Temelkuran is ready to end that illusion: right-wing populism is a globalized event and it is coming towards ‘us’.

Temelkuran claims western countries who experience right-wing populism should learn from countries like Turkey. From her personal experiences in Turkey and South America she shares her thoughts on democracies which might sled into dictatorship. How to lose a country? Temelkuran explains the path.

On the occasion of the Dutch translation of her book How to lose a country? Temelkuran will share her ideas on populism and democratization.

About the speakers

Ece Temelkuran is a well-regarded journalist and one of Turkey’s best-known novelists and political commentators. In 2011 she was fired from the newspaper she worked for because of her criticism on the Turkish government. She wrote several books and her journalism has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian and Der Spiegel. She divides her time between Istanbul and Zagreb.

Sinan Can will give an introduction to Temelkuran’s talk. Can is an investigative journalist and documentary maker. He made several television documentaries and won Journalist voor de Vrede (Journalist for Peace Prize) in 2016. This year he was awarded a PAX Duif as ‘peacehero’.

Sophie Derkzen is an Amsterdam-based journalist and moderator who spent various phases of her life in Germany and has expertise in international politics.