Ece Temelkuran is a writer and public intellectual from Turkey who lives in Germany and travels widely. Her How To Lose A Country, from 2019, describes paths to authoritarianism. In 2021 she published Together; 10 Choices for a Better Now. Ece is a regular contributor to the ERB. We texted with her before, and here’s her letter to a fictional editor: One last round | Son bir şans
SP
How was Rome?
ET
Rome was inspiring. I attended the two-day Georgetown University Global Dialogues conference. We are a group of writers and thinkers who try to start a conversation between the « global south » and the West. The next meeting will be in Barcelona in November. It was refreshing to be with so many inspiring peers at Villa Malta. Before that, I was in Poland as a guest of Solidarność. In one week, I had the opportunity to view Europe from various vantage points.
SP
All those well-intentioned people. In Amsterdam, you’ll soon discuss the dangers of Big Tech. What’s life like as an intellectual that people turn to when things go bad?
ET
Here’s something rather bizarre when it comes to what’s expected from the intellectual. I noticed that many people, perhaps unwittingly, are willing to be terrified. I came to think of this after Together. When How To Lose A Country was published, I saw hypnotised faces listening to me when I told them, « Fascism is coming towards you. » However, when I began discussing the solution after writing Together, people became less interested. Fear and the paralysis it brings, I guess, is a surprisingly comfortable place. Once Rita Hayward said, « Men go to bed with Gilda and are disappointed. » So when a political Cassandra like myself turns into someone who says, « Let’s do what we have to do, » people are less interested. I apologise for my answer being limited to my personal experience.
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