Professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley Working on a book on right-wing populism https://sociology.berkeley.edu/faculty/cihan-tugalhttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3ml55jmqeoc26"it is essential that revolutionaries and socialists adopt a clear stance against all forms of oppression and injustice, remain consistent with their principles, and bring together all left and progressive forces in a broad united front." https://links.org.au/iran-and-western-left05 May 2026 21:38 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml55jmqeoc26https://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3mkxkpna5hk2kIn or anywhere near the SF Bay Area? Join us here: nocoalinoakland.info If a coal terminal is built in Oakland, the toxic waste will spread throughout the area, so this is not just about the East Bay. (We are therefore working on renaming the campaign). [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 May 2026 16:18 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkxkpna5hk2khttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3mkvtca6ae22kMay Day 2026. As ecosocialists, we are committed to building working class power to fight for nature-friendly cities. We joined the march, rally, and resource fair in Oakland as one part of our broader campaign to unite the forces of labor and the ecology movement to keep coal out of the Bay Area.02 May 2026 23:47 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkvtca6ae22khttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3mjxkfng3yc22Fellow sociologists... Please note that I am running for Chair of the ASA’s Theory section. Here is my statement: Theory is not simply a subfield of sociology but the integrative force that brings our disparate research programmes into a contentious yet productive dialogue. In a recent essay, 1/620 Apr 2026 22:48 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjxkfng3yc22https://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3mjrxaeva7c2xI am looking forward to this talk by Sinan Birdal. American movements have become paradigmatic for studying all other sexual liberation movements. A German angle uncovers the deep engagement of socialists with those movements as early as the 19th-century, https://events.berkeley.edu/ies/event/318143-mehmet-sinan-birdal-political-ontology-of-the https://events.berkeley.edu/ies/event/318143-mehmet-sinan-birdal-political-ontology-of-the?fbclid=IwY2xjawRQnXJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe0Rdm4OFR-H9pCJshc7gz-hMQU9Xz8CSJD-sYdp1t2X-8sWi2VKKo69h7lHU_aem_piHsmUOnTUUwjuKIgFJYTg18 Apr 2026 17:21 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjrxaeva7c2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3mjf6qutr7s2vOrbán was admired by right-wing populists in the US and elsewhere. Even though Orbán allegedly “inspired” them, most other far-rightists did not really imitate his regime beyond its superficial traits. Like most critics of Orbán, they reduced Fidesz success to the leader's undermining and mockery 1/13 Apr 2026 15:31 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjf6qutr7s2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3mjbgwkkw2s2vIranian comrades say: It's our *primary* imperative to stop this imperialist war. At the same time, we should honor the decades-long struggle of the Iranian people for social and political freedom from their rulers. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXAyx0_FH2W/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=MzJiMzQ5ZWQ2Mw==12 Apr 2026 03:47 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjbgwkkw2s2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3mimqmetqkc2dThis paper on populism is now in print as LEAD ARTICLE (after the presidential address). https://tandfonline.com/toc/utsq20/67/2 [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 Apr 2026 22:14 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mimqmetqkc2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3mh4rpfbx6k2kHabermas is a mixed bag. I’ve been teaching him forever, although I had to stop assigning him to undergraduate students because he alienates them from the academia with his uncommunicative (!) prose. My sociology shaped up as a counterpoint to his. His best work is unquestionably his treatise 1/415 Mar 2026 20:26 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mh4rpfbx6k2khttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3me5uju2cik2yMy tribute to and critical analysis of Michael Burawoy, published as the lead article in Sociologia. The heart of the piece is a discussion of 1) why/how Burawoy transitioned from his early, “labor process”-focused research programme to a “counter-market” one; ++ https://ojs.letras.up.pt/index.php/Sociologia/article/view/16044/1382006 Feb 2026 02:34 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3me5uju2cik2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3mdo3nwuimk2r"state terror" Springsteen's wording here reminds us of a basic fact: Despite their frequent vitriol against "terrorists," empires and states are the greatest terrorists in human history. [contains quote post or other embedded content]30 Jan 2026 19:59 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdo3nwuimk2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3md6rb53tvc25Syria's HTS is gearing up for its third round of ethnic cleansing with full Western guardianship. For a discussion of the first two rounds, and a sociological explanation of why Western powers would support such murderous forces, see this essay: [contains quote post or other embedded content]24 Jan 2026 17:43 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3md6rb53tvc25https://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3md2l6yzm722zOur article on populism is published in @socquarterly.bsky.social https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00380253.2025.2612496#d1e460 Based on 52 interviews with populists and anti-populists during Trump’s first presidency, we make the following contributions 1) We demonstrate the centrality of emotions in anti-populist politics23 Jan 2026 01:43 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3md2l6yzm722zhttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3mcvkavhfpc2xGreat article on why radicalization in the 1960s and 1970s produced very different results for the American Left and Right. Grumbach problematizes the widely held belief that polarization is bad for all parties involved. If you have the organization + https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0896920525139656721 Jan 2026 01:43 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcvkavhfpc2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3mbjvlh4fls2f“Social sciences” are predominantly studies of Western behavior rather than human behavior. Example? With the exception of Likud, the strongest far-right parties are outside the West: the AKP in Turkey, BJP in India, etc. But theorizations of the far right largely ignore them. +03 Jan 2026 17:09 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbjvlh4fls2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3mbd3avotqs2sHappy 2026 everyone! 2025 was horrible but here are a few things to appreciate about the first 26 years of the 21st century (yes, including 2025): · “Fascist” is still a curse word, despite the rise of the far right throughout the globe. They are still ashamed of who they are. 1/01 Jan 2026 00:02 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbd3avotqs2shttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3mb7x3z3rnk23On my reading list for early 2026: The International Sociological Association's magazine just published a special issue on Michael Burawoy https://globaldialogue.isa-sociology.org/uploads/imgen/3736-v15i3-english.pdf30 Dec 2025 18:09 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mb7x3z3rnk23https://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3m7teqlwgz22nErdoğan’s AKP had absorbed Brotherhood-type Islamism both into Turkey’s institutional system and into the world order. Can the cooperation between the Syrian HTS and the Turkish AKP tame salafism too and make it serve global capitalism more smoothly? I discuss this question here: [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 Dec 2025 00:44 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7teqlwgz22nhttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3m7sljqoopk2cThe Political Education Committee of @dsaeastbay.bsky.social wraps up the Socialist Fundamentals Series with this panel. In the spirit of Marx's third thesis on Feuerbach, the audience educates the educators during this meeting. Bagels + community + fierce debate! https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/4716/2025-12-13-bagels-and-building-socialism-a-park-bench-panel-socialist-fundamentals-25-finale/12 Dec 2025 17:12 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7sljqoopk2chttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3m7nkpq5f3222Bourdieusian theorizations of populism are long overdue. I am putting this article on my reading list. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10767-025-09554-010 Dec 2025 17:15 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7nkpq5f3222https://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3m7jdfl63xk2pMy essay on Syria, Islamism, and capitalist geopolitics has been translated to Indonesian. https://indoprogress.com/2025/12/evolusi-hayat-tahrir-al-sham-dan-masa-depan-suriah-interaksi-antara-islamisme-dan-geopolitik-kapitalis-cihan-tugal/ [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Dec 2025 00:53 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7jdfl63xk2phttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3m74tihddkc2s"Fourteen years ago, Syrians rose up with democratic demands. Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the West sought to hijack these demands for capital accumulation and empire-making. But a major unexpected winner of this process might instead, or along with these actors, be a new kind of Islamism." [contains quote post or other embedded content]04 Dec 2025 01:36 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3m74tihddkc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3m6q7mih57s2qThe HTS regime in Damascus is the culmination of a long process of theo-political maturation and salafism’s integration into world capitalism. Violently militant forms of salafism constitute a relatively recent development in Islamic theology. They first crystallized through a differentiation 1/4 [contains quote post or other embedded content]29 Nov 2025 01:09 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6q7mih57s2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/cihantugal.bsky.social/post/3m6lbe46x3227The point is not that "al-Jolani has not changed," but that those changes are mostly in line with the interests of world capitalism rather than Syrians' democratic struggles. Moreover, there are strong signs that he retains important elements of his original mission. + [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 Nov 2025 01:57 +0000at://did:plc:c376eshtndtev3kx44abbrr2/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6lbe46x3227