Call for Papers: Beyond Conflict and Coexistence - Majority-Minority Relations in the late Ottoman and post-Ottoman space

Call for Papers

Workshop: Beyond Conflict and Coexistence - Majority-Minority Relations in the late Ottoman and post-Ottoman space

Date: January 25-26, 2026 
Location: Heidelberg
Organized by: Heidelberg University of Jewish Studies and Heidelberg University (Department for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and Heidelberg Center for Transcultural Studies), in cooperation with the research group Beyond Conflict and Coexistence (LMU Munich, Heidelberg University and Halle University)

Supported by: Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR)

This academic workshop invites contributions that examine the dynamics of majority-minority relations in the late Ottoman and post-Ottoman space. From Jewish-Arab relations in Israel and Kurdish-Turkish relations in Turkey, to Greek-Turkish encounters in Greece, Cypriot ethnic divisions, Turkish minorities in Bulgaria, to interethnic tensions in the Eastern Balkans (e.g., Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia), we seek to investigate how different historical and ideological inheritances of the late Ottoman Empire continue to shape contemporary patterns of coexistence, exclusion, and transformation in the post-Ottoman space.

Anchored in the conceptual perspective of the research group Beyond Conflict and Coexistence, this workshop resists simplistic binaries such as tolerance vs. repression or peaceful coexistence vs. violent rupture. It also challenges reductionist narratives about the transition from empire to nation-state and seeks to go beyond a simple juxtaposition of imperial and national politics.

We are especially interested in papers that:

• Explore the complex interactions between majority and minority communities, especially in the transition from Ottoman to post-Ottoman times
• Analyze how even moments of so-called "peaceful coexistence" during Ottoman times were entangled with asymmetries of power and structural discrimination
• Examine cases of mutual learning, cultural borrowing, or ideological cross-pollination, even within contexts of conflict or domination
• Investigate how historical legacies - whether Ottoman, colonial, or nationalist - have informed contemporary ethnic, religious, and national boundaries
• Develop comparative perspectives on majority-minority relations in the late Ottoman and post-Ottoman space

We welcome both historical and contemporary approaches from all disciplines. Papers may focus on the late Ottoman Empire, the early post-independence era of a specific state, as well as the post-Cold War era and current developments. The workshop will serve as the basis for a planned edited volume or special journal issue, to be developed in collaboration with selected participants.

Submission guidelines:
Please submit a 300-word abstract and a short bio by 10.11.25 to uri.rosenberg(at)hcts.uni-heidelberg.de. Successful applicants will be notified by 30.11.25. Travel costs and accommodation will be covered for accepted workshop participants.