On the Issues Episode 169: Michael Wuthrich

Today’s guest is Michael Wuthrich, Associate Professor of Political Science and the Associate Director for Global & International Studies at the University of Kansas. He is co-author of the book, Beyond Piety and Politics: Religion, Social Relations, and Public Preferences in the Middle East and North Africa.

In this episode, Alon and Mike discuss the intersection of religion and politics, particularly in the non-Arab Muslim countries of Turkey and Iran, what has been behind the growth of Islam globally, changes in secularism in Turkey under Erdogan, and the impact of the Islamic Republic on religiosity for everyday people in Iran.

Full bio
Mike Wuthrich is an Associate Professor of Political Science and the Associate Director for Global & International Studies at the University of Kansas. He received his PhD in Political Science from Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey in 2011. His interests are Middle East politics, particularly Turkish, Kurdish, and Iranian politics, parties and party systems, electoral behavior, religion and politics, women and politics in Turkey, and nationalism. His publications have appeared in Journal of Democracy, Political Research Quarterly, Parliamentary Affairs, the International Journal of Middle East Studies, the Middle East Journal, and Turkish Studies among others. He is co-author of the book, Beyond Piety and Politics: Religion, Social Relations, and Public Preferences in the Middle East and North Africa, with Indiana University Press in 2022. His book, National Elections in Turkey: People, Politics, and the Party System was published in 2015 with Syracuse University Press.