NEWG (New-exile Working Group) was established in 2019 as an inter/trans-disciplinary research group by Latife Akyüz (Sociology), Melehat Kutun (Political Science), Eylem Çamuroğlu Çığ (Media Studies), and Hakan Altun (Theatre Studies). The group’s research and analysis focus on the evolving dimensions of exile, which they term new-exile. This phenomenon arises in conjunction with the new-wave migration and the emergence of a new authoritarian threshold of hegemonic capitalism as a world system. This research group, consisting of Academics for Peace (AfP), has compiled a book entitled Exiled Intellectuals: encounters, conflicts and experiences in transnational context with the objective of identifying and analysing the forced displacement of intellectual groups from Turkey to Germany that emerged following the Gezi Uprising.
They consider this to be the prototype of a new forced displacement wave (new-exile) that has become widespread on a global scale. This forthcoming publication, scheduled for publication by Palgrave, aims to examine the intellectual groups and activists who were forced into exile as a continuum, exploring the nuances and complexities of the phenomenon in depth. The book’s objective is to present a theoretical framework for understanding the phenomenon of new-exile while simultaneously allowing those directly affected to narrate their experiences in their own words.
As a follow-up to this publication, NEWG is currently undertaking a research project entitled New-wave displaced intellectuals in Germany: Journalists-Politicians-Academics-Artists which is funded by the Gerda Henkel Stiftung.