# A Street in Istanbul Tells the Story of the World

- Link: https://instituteforglobalaffairs.org/2026/05/a-street-in-istanbul-tells-the-story-of-the-world/
- Published: 2026-05-13T16:44:50-04:00

### Suzy Hansen on nation, identity, and the slow creep of authoritarianism

How does geopolitics play out on one street? The residents of Istanbul carry on 
with their daily routines while reckoning with complex foreign-policy dynamics, 
which affect the entire neighborhood. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s authoritarian
rise — against the backdrop of the US war on terror and the Syrian civil war — has
forced the country to newly contend with questions of nation and identity. 

In this episode, the [Institute for Global Affairs](https://instituteforglobalaffairs.org/)’
Jonathan Guyer is joined by journalist Suzy Hansen. She discusses her new book, 
_From Life Itself: Turkey, Istanbul, and a Neighborhood in the Age of Erdoğan_, 
in which she traces the country’s political and social evolution as the Turkish 
president consolidated his rule and asserted power on the global stage.

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**Suzy Hansen** is a writer based in New York City and the author of _From Life 
Itself: Turkey, Istanbul, and a Neighborhood in the Age of Erdoğan_ (Macmillan, 
2026). She lived in Istanbul for more than a decade, where she was a contributor
to _The New York Times Magazine_ and more. Her 2018 book _Notes on a Foreign Country_
was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction. She has written for _The New
York Review of Books_, _New York Magazine_, and _The New Yorker_.

Find Suzy on X: [https://x.com/suzyhans](https://x.com/suzyhans)  

Read _From Life Itself_: [https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374298432/fromlifeitself/](https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374298432/fromlifeitself/)