Mansur Bakir

Mansur Bakir's project explores how accusations of treason shaped politics and national identity in the Middle East after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Focusing on Turkey and Egypt in the 1920s and 1930s, it examines how governments and political movements used ideas of loyalty and betrayal to define who belonged to the nation and who did not.

The project shows that treason was not simply a legal crime or an ordinary accusation. In times of political upheaval, speeches, writings, political activities, and even everyday actions could be interpreted as acts of betrayal. People accused of treason could face imprisonment, exile, forced labor, assassination, or even execution, while others were later forgiven as political circumstances changed.

By comparing Turkey’s transition to a new republic with Egypt’s struggle under colonial rule and competing nationalist movements, the project reveals how debates over loyalty, citizenship, and belonging helped shape the modern Middle East.