Oxford Union and the Debate on the Ottoman Empire’s Demise

This week, after my italic introduction, a prominent Turkish intellectual Dr Cengiz Aktar shares his encounter with the Oxford Union and his regret over the Ottoman Empire’s demise.

Oxford Union, of which I am a life member, has always relished the performance of politics. It finds ways to stay in the news, either by inviting the controversial or by refusing them. It has long oscillated between a chummy, club-like insularity and the occasional urge to appear more modern, inclusive, and self-aware.

I used to read in its library and attend debates out of curiosity, to observe the manners and instincts of England’s elite politics when I was a student at the University of Oxford. As an alumnus now, I watch its term cards from afar, as it recycles tired discussions rather than generating new ideas. Nothing new or exciting remains, except perhaps the occasional reduced-rate pint at its members’ bar and the small comfort of magazines in its library. (The library itself, though, is still extraordinary.)

Lately, the Union has stumbled into deeper trouble. Its president-elect became the target of racist attacks after a WhatsApp message about the assassination of the American…