Boycotting neo-Ottoman cool: Geopolitics and media industries in the Egypt-Turkey row over television drama

Marwan M. Kraidy*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

In the 2000s, Turkish-Arab relations warmed up, and the rising popularity of Turkish television dramas in the Arab world was part of an overall 'zero-problem with neighbors' realignment initiated by Turkey's ruling Justice and Development party (AKP). However, Turkey's involvement in the Arab uprisings complicated this rapprochement. The Turkish government, given their doctrinal proximity, supported the Muslim Brotherhood governments that were elected in Tunisia and Egypt, and then entered the fray of the Syrian uprising against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. After the Egyptian military deposed the elected president and Muslim Brotherhood leader Muhammad Morsi in a June 2013 coup, Egypt-Turkish relations deteriorated, as manifest in the Egyptian media industry boycott of Turkish television dramas. In this paper, by examining Arabic-language, mostly Egyptian primary sources, I analyze the geopolitical, economic and media dimensions of the Egyptian boycott of Turkish productions from Egypt's perspective, and cast a new light on state-media relations in the Arab world and the interaction between media industries and shifting geopolitics.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)149-165
Number of pages17
JournalMiddle East Journal of Culture and Communication
Volume12
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2019

Keywords

  • Arab Spring
  • boycott
  • geopolitics
  • media industries
  • Muslim Brotherhood
  • neo-Ottoman cool
  • television drama
  • Turkey-Egypt

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cultural Studies
  • Communication
  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Political Science and International Relations

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