Türkiye, Iran, and the Politics of Comparison

In a 1962 meeting at the White House, Iran's last monarch, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, complained to US President John F. Kennedy 'America treats Turkey as a wife, and Iran as a concubine.' Taking this protest as a critical starting point, this book examines the transnational history of comparisons between Türkiye and Iran from Cold War-era modernization theory to post-9/11 studies of 'moderate Islam'. Perin E. Gürel explores how US policymakers and thought leaders strategically used comparisons to advance shifting agendas, while stakeholders in Türkiye and Iran responded by anticipating, manipulating, and reshaping US-driven narratives. Juxtaposing dominant US-based comparisons with representations originating from Iran and Türkiye, Gürel's interdisciplinary and multilingual research uncovers unexpected twists: comparisons didn't always reinforce US authority but often reflected and encouraged the rise of new ideologies. This book offers fresh insight into the complexities of US-Middle Eastern relations and the enduring impact of comparativism on international relations.