Dr. Nukhet Sandal
Dr. Nukhet Sandal, Associate Professor and Chair of Political Science, authored an article titled “Solidarity theologies and the (re) definition of ethnoreligious identities: the case of the Alevis of Turkey and Alawites of Syria” in British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, the official journal of the British Society of Middle Eastern Studies.
Using interviews and public statements, Sandal’s article shows how the securitization of identities and discrimination can result in new units of advocacy and belonging, with a focus on the cases of Alevis of Turkey and Alawites of Syria. Sandal argues that the civil war in Syria and the Turkish government’s response to it brought Alevis of Turkey and Alawites of Syria closer and created a solidarity based on close religious beliefs.
She writes that Alevi community in Turkey provided assistance to the Alawite refugees from Syria, and Alevi leaders started to create a narrative focusing on identity similarities between and common threats against the Alevis and Alawite communities.
Sandal is teaching POLS 4420/5420 Middle Eastern Politics in the Fall 2019 semester.
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