Istanbul: Between the Global and the Local

(Paperback)

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An investigation of the processes of globalization in the context of Istanbul - one of the oldest and grandest of world cities. Istanbul is usually identified as a battleground between East and West, between Islam and secularism. Yet the authors argue that beyond these cliches lies a complex reality shaped by an ongoing struggle over the soul of the city and the identity of its inhabitants. Istanbulites try to accommodate, understand, challenge and shape the sweeping transformations that globalization has brought to their city. Explaining the course of the conflicts and the compromises involved in maintaining a precarious urbanity, this volume focuses on the fields of struggle ranging from politics to heritage, humour to music, public space to housing.

Reviews

Incorporating everything from politics to music, the essays demonstrate the complex, yet inevitable, exchange of space , culture and identity that the city and its inhabitants experience as the result of globalizationnnnn * Middle East Journal *
This provocative collection of essays reveals the complex relationship between the 'global' and the 'local' in the context of contemporary Istanbul. This book is highly recommended. . . . An interdisciplinary volume that pins down the most important debates about cultural identity, representation, and social and spatial processes within the era of globalization. * Progress In Human Geography *
Istanbul takes a fairly unique look at the challenges being faced by the city during this period of contemporary globalization, taking into consideration multiple factors, such as religion, culture, and class. * American Journal of Islamic Social Studies *
The volume is worth reading not only because it provides a general understanding of recent developments in the historical world city of Istanbul, but also because it provides new perspectives for global city hypothesis. * Environment and Planning *
This insightful volume shows us once more that globalism takes unique shapes and leads to unexpected outcomes in the different locales where it is realized. * Cssh *
The most refreshing new book on the 'world city' debate to appear in the last decade. The essays open up the conflictual cultural politics of 'going global' in a cosmopolitan city that has long belonged to different worlds. The authors provide fascinating insights into the uncertain outcomes that globalization has brought to Istanbul. It's original, lively, and puts culture and politics right back on the agenda. -- Anthony King, SUNY Binghamton
Incorporating everything from politics to music, the essays demonstrate the complex, yet inevitable, exchange of space , culture and identity that the city and its inhabitants experience as the result of globalization * Middle East Journal *

Author Bio

Caglar Keyder is professor of sociology at Bogazici University.