Tugrul Mende

Tugrul Mende holds an M.A in Arabic Studies. He is based in Berlin as a project coordinator and independent researcher.

openDemocracy Author

How have the uprisings of the Arab Spring shaped the path of revolutions?

Iranian-American scholar Asef Bayat, author of ‘Revolutionary Life: The Everyday of the Arab Spring’, on the evolution of revolutions and their impact on everyday lives

By Tugrul Mende

/ 9 Feb 2022

How have the uprisings of the Arab Spring shaped the path of revolutions?

Shaping imagination in 1960s Beirut: a conversation with Zeina Maasri

The role of the visual in modern history, and the transnational nature of 1960s Beirut as a hub of politically oriented creativity and intellectual life

By Tugrul Mende

/ 26 Jan 2022

Shaping imagination in 1960s Beirut: a conversation with Zeina Maasri

Can art change the world? An interview with Hanan Toukan

In her new book, Toukan investigates the relationship between Western funding and contemporary art in Beirut, Amman and Ramallah.

By Tugrul Mende

/ 7 Oct 2021

Can art change the world? An interview with Hanan Toukan

The Palestinian artists reclaiming Haifa

Through music and writing, a new generation of creatives are carving out new spaces in this ancient city

By Tugrul Mende

/ 1 Jun 2021

The Palestinian artists reclaiming Haifa

Challenging traditional 'masculinity' in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon

Gustavo Barbosa, author of ‘The Best of Hard Times’, discusses the Shabab, the offspring of the Fedayeen – and how the two generations' ideals differ

By Tugrul Mende

/ 15 Apr 2021

Challenging traditional 'masculinity' in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon

To understand the Middle East, we must look back at the 1960s Arab New Left

In this interview, Fadi A. Bardawil explains why it was so important for him to excavate the lost archive of leftwing intellectuals in Lebanon

By Tugrul Mende

/ 24 Mar 2021

To understand the Middle East, we must look back at the 1960s Arab New Left

Syrian prison literature and human rights: an interview with Shareah Taleghani

Literature about prison has actually assisted international campaigns in the release of individual detainees.

By Tugrul Mende

/ 6 Jan 2021

Syrian prison literature and human rights: an interview with Shareah Taleghani

Ports, ships and the human economy of global sea trade: an interview with Laleh Khalili

Little has been written about the sea trade in the Gulf. Laleh Khalili’s latest book explores the complex realities that drive this massive economy.

By Tugrul Mende

/ 30 Jun 2020

Ports, ships and the human economy of global sea trade: an interview with Laleh Khalili

How does authoritarianism survive in Syria? An interview with Lisa Wedeen

How did the emergence of a civil-war autocracy in Syria change the way the regime reproduces its power?

By Tugrul Mende

/ 26 May 2020

How does authoritarianism survive in Syria? An interview with Lisa Wedeen

The moral triangle: Germans, Israelis and Palestinians in Berlin

An Interview with Sa′ed Atshan and Katharina Galor about the difficult, complex relationship of these three communities.

By Tugrul Mende

/ 30 Apr 2020

The moral triangle: Germans, Israelis and Palestinians in Berlin

Egypt’s ‘watermelon democracy’: an interview with Joshua Stacher

Why is Egypt in its current state? And what happened to the revolution? An interview with Joshua Stacher about his new book.

By Tugrul Mende

/ 19 Feb 2020

Egypt’s ‘watermelon democracy’: an interview with Joshua Stacher

Everywhere we looked was burning: an interview with Emel Mathlouthi

Emel Mathlouthi’s new album is the soundtrack of the apocalypse.

By Tugrul Mende

/ 17 Dec 2019

Everywhere we looked was burning: an interview with Emel Mathlouthi