Türkiye, Iran, and the Politics of Comparison

with Perin Gürel hosted by Chris Gratien | Comparisons are everywhere in American discussions of Middle East politics. As our guest, Perin Gürel, argues in a new book, this cultural impulse has political roots in the Cold War period. In this episode, we explore the origins of comparitivism through the lens of America's evolving relationship with Turkey and Iran over the course of the 20th century, focusing on how gender and race shaped the terms of the assymetrical relations between the US and other countries in the region. We discuss the "daddy issues" reflected in comparisons between the founding figures of the Republic of Turkey and Iran's monarchy, the changing image of Iran's empress on the global stage, and the ambivalent claims to whiteness and anti-imperialism that took shape in both countries. Throughout the conversation, we return to a critique of comparison as a placeholder for knowledge and a political instrument wielded with varying degrees of success to further American foreign policy goals, and we reflect on how this American project has shaped how all of us conceptualize the region's major social and political questions today. « Click for More »

You can listen to Türkiye, Iran, and the Politics of Comparison online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Türkiye, Iran, and the Politics of Comparison is an episode from Ottoman History Podcast by Ottoman History Podcast.

The episode duration depends on the source podcast feed and may not always be available.

This episode was published on Oct 31, 2025.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Ottoman History Podcast when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.