Spyros Sofos

Background

About Spyros Sofos

Assistant Professor of Global Humanities at Simon Fraser University, with cross-appointment in International Studies and active roles in the Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies, the Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellowship Committee, and the Woodsworth Advisory Committee at the Institute for the Humanities. These positions reflect both regional expertise (Turkey, Southeastern Europe, the Middle East), a commitment to multidisciplinarity and to bridging creative, scholarly, and public practices. My research examines the interplay of social identities, collective action, insecurity, and conflict. With over 25 years of experience in the UK, Sweden, Italy, and Canada—including recent positions at the London School of Economics and Lund University—I focus on populism, nationalism, and ethnic conflict in Southeastern Europe, and the Middle East. My publications include Turkish Politics and “The People”: Mass Mobilisation and Populism (Edinburgh University Press - single authored), Islam in Europe: Public Spaces and Civic Networks (Palgrave - co-authored), and Tormented by History: Nationalism in Greece and Turkey (Hurst and Oxford University Press - co-authored). My forthcoming monograph, Turkey, Geopolitics and the Age of Populism (Routledge, 2026, single-authored), situates Turkey within wider debates on populism and international order. Through initiatives such as #RethinkingPopulism, open-access publishing, and media engagement, I work to bridge academic, policy, and public conversations on today’s pressing global challenges.