Right now, someone, somewhere is being cancelled. Off-the-cuff tweets or "harmless" office banter have the potential to wreck lives. The Left condemns the Right and the bigotry of the old elites. The Right complains about brain-dead political correctness. In reality, both sides are colluding in a reactionary politics that is as self-defeating as it is divisive. Can the Left escape this extremism and stay true to the progressive ideals it once professed?

In this provocative book, Umut OEzkyrymly reveals how the Left has been sucked into a spiral of toxic hatred and outrage-mongering, retreating from the democratic ideals of freedom and pluralism that it purports to represent. Exploring the similarities between right-wing populism and radical identity politics, he sets out an alternative vision. It is only by focusing on our common humanity and working across differences that the Left will find a constructive and consensual way back from "woke".

About the Author

Umut OEzkirimli is a senior research fellow at IBEI (Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals), a professor at Blanquerna, Ramon Llull University, and a senior research associate at CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs). His writings appear in the Guardian, openDemocracy, Times Higher Education, Huffington Post, among others. Find him online at @UOzkirimli and umutozkirimli.com.

Reviews

"In this forceful intervention, Umut OEzkirimli challenges assumptions and pieties of both Right and Left and - remaining true to the democratic socialist tradition - alerts readers to occasions when a pseudo Left sounds all too much like the reactionary Right."
Craig Calhoun, Arizona State University

"This book will make you think, which is probably what makes it so scary. OEzkirimli's accessible style helps navigate contentious areas that have, increasingly, been seen as too dangerous to debate. Whatever Side you are on in this increasingly vicious culture war, you would benefit from reading this book. I don't agree with all of it, but I am sure as hell glad it made it to the shelves."
Julie Bindel, feminist and writer, author of Feminism for Women

"Umut OEzkirimli takes no hostages in this forensic dissection of the woke Left's dismal collusion in the exclusionary politics and toxic cancel culture of our times. This is the must-read book of a generation."
Jo Phoenix, University of Reading

"Bold and brilliant, taking on both right-wing authoritarian populism and regressive woke Left identity politics, this book represents a watershed in twenty-first century political thought."
Jean Wyllys, Brazilian writer, journalist, and human rights activist

"A thoughtful and courageous book that should provoke a much-needed debate"
Ivan Krastev

"Umut Ozkirimli addresses the more extreme forms of woke-ism in this forthright, often witty examination of contemporary cancel culture... He says he walked into this war zone knowing he'd cop it from both left and right, and he will surely stir things up."
Sydney Morning Herald

"this book is sorely needed, at a time when any rejection of left-wing censoriousness risks becoming either outright hopelessness or a turn to the right"
Victoria Smith, The Critic

"In this intellectually sterile and predictable debate between excited voices from right and left, Umut OEzkirimli's new book - Cancelled - seems like a breath of fresh air."
Lars Tragardh, Gothenburg Post

"An excellent, well-written, brave, and thought-provoking book"
Counterpunch

"is it possible for the left to stay true to the progressive egalitarian, universalist ideals it once professed? In Cancelled: The Left Way Back from Woke, OEzkirimli addresses the question from all angles"
The Australian

"One of the first explicit and thoroughgoing denunciations of ''cancel culture'' from within the radical left...an important starting point for dialogue and debate: not only within the left, broadly defined, but also among fair-minded people of all political persuasions."
Alan Sokal, The Critic

Book Information
ISBN 9781509550913
Author Umut Ozkirimli
Format Hardback
Page Count 240
Imprint Polity Press
Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Weight(grams) 408g
Dimensions(mm) 218mm * 140mm * 23mm