On Wednesday 5 February, our own Ernie Tucker, Professor of Middle Eastern History at the Naval Academy, spoke on “Turkey (Türkiye) and its dichotomies: Europe vs. Middle East; Atatürk vs. Erdoğan; and NATO Allegiance vs. Black Sea Military Issues.”  He reflected on a nation that remains the fulcrum of numerous social and political challenges now unfolding in Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

 Dr. Ernest Tucker has taught in the history department at the U.S. Naval Academy since 1990, receiving the rank of full professor there in 2006. Tucker earned his Ph.D. in Middle Eastern history from the University of Chicago.  He spent time in the 1980s and in 2000s living and doing research in Istanbul, Turkey, both times as a Fulbright Scholar.  He has published three books on Iran and the Ottoman Empire, his articles have appeared in a wide variety of scholarly journals and encyclopedias, and he has consulted for a variety of governmental and non-governmental organizations.   Tucker has traveled extensively in the Middle East, leading several study groups to the region over the years.  His current research focuses on the Ottoman Red Crescent Society as a window on the complexities faced by Muslim societies in the early modern world.