Critical Social Theory in Istanbul – ICST 2026

On July 8-10, the Institute for Critical Social Theory hosted a conference at Marmara University. The conference was entitled, “Critical Social Theory in a time of Global Uncertainty.” I gave two presentations, one on the political-psychological dynamics of Donald Trump, the “Dark Charismatic” as I call him in my book – The Dark Charisma of Donald Trump: Political Psychology and the MAGA Movement. The second was on the “Inherent Alien in the Post-Secular Society,” which discusses the metaphysicalization of Islamophobia – its retreat from race and religion into the intangibility of Geist. We had a total of 28 presenters, with Seyed Javad Miri delivering the plenary address on the first day. Our trip included a visit to a Mevlevi Sema (Spiritual Concert) at the Hodjapasha Culture Center, and a dinner cruise on the Bosphorus. On the last day of the conference, we visited the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed mosque), the 6th century Aya Sofia (Hagia Sophia) – the church-turned-mosque-turned-museum-turned-mosque, the Museum of Islamic Art, and the Topkapi Palace. Overall, this was an amazing experience. The conference went exceptionally well with very interesting presentations and discussions, the cultural excursions were amazing, the bazaars were spectacular, and the mosques were unspeakably beautiful and serene during salah. The dueling adhans between Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque was amazing (see the video below). Istanbul, also known as “Catstanbul,” is full of cats, which are communally owned, mostly friendly, and adored by local and tourist alike. I miss them already. Unfortunately, the Aya Sofia is in disrepair, so a lot of renovation work is being done on it. It will look even more beautiful once it is done.

Our 2027 conference is tentatively planned to take place in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Keep an eye out for the Call for Papers.

I would like to thank Nuri Tinaz of Marmara University for all his help organizing the conference on the ground in Istanbul; Cihan Nuri for driving us around and for the wonderful gifts, as well as The University of Olivet for all the technical support. Lastly, to all the students who helped us keep the conference going, you are awesome! Keep studying and change the world!