Essays
A Forgotten Alliance
Turks and Kurds have shared a common history for centuries, and have often been united by alliances that helped to reshape power in Anatolia and the wider region. Yet since the foundation of modern Turkey, this history has been overshadowed by political dynamics and a breakdown of relations.
Kampala’s Cultural Renaissance
Culture has made a comeback in Uganda’s capital since the COVID-19 pandemic, and its music, dance and theater are drawing attention from around the world. The revival mirrors Kampala’s role as a cultural hub in the 1960s, yet today’s artists, like their precursors, still struggle for state recognition.
Germany’s Abortion Debate Is Still Shaped by Its East-West Divide
East Germany is often remembered as less forward-thinking than its Western counterpart, yet when the Berlin Wall fell 35 years ago, it marked the beginning of a process that would see East German women lose their stronger rights to abortion.
The Lasting Power of Jinns in Tunisian Society
Beliefs in magic and jinn possession persist in Tunisia, despite over 150 years of attempts to weed them out by rationalist reformers, postindependence modernizers and Islamists — with rumors suggesting that even former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his wife practiced sorcery.
How an American Film in 1984 Shaped the ‘Fetal Personhood’ Movement
In the 1980s, the notion that fetuses and embryos should be considered legal persons was just that: a notion. But in 2024, “fetal personhood” has become a reality for nearly one-third of American women of reproductive age living in some 19 states where abortion is unavailable or severely restricted — in no small part thanks to a film that came out four decades ago.
Unearthing a Dark Chapter in Chile’s History
Felipe Galvez Haberle’s “The Settlers” (“Los Colonos”) is anything but a typical Western. Utterly devoid of heroism or romance, it explores a dark chapter in Chile’s history, deconstructing not only the morality of the gunslingers but also the historical setting in which they operated.
Organized Looting Is Dispersing Islamic Heritage
Heritage from across the Middle East and the Islamic world is being plundered and resold in a market that is booming thanks to armed conflict, lack of enforcement and the ease of online selling. And despite the temptation for those wishing to preserve them, purchasing antiquities only fuels the problem.