Doctoral research fellow  Ahmet Veli Haydar

This doctoral project analyzes the political relations between the Ottoman Empire and the Turkestan khanates from 1908 until the establishment of the Republic of Turkey through the framework of ambivalent enmity. Focusing on the stages of knowing the enemy, staging the enemy, and especially enemy contact, the study examines how ideological constructions, intelligence activities, and direct encounters shaped Ottoman–Turkestan interactions under Russian imperial and early Soviet dominance, as well as the influence of other relevant great powers. The project traces the shift from Ottoman intellectual and Pan-Turkist engagement with Turkestan to limited operational involvement through the Committee of Union and Progress and the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa. Particular attention is given to the post-1917 period, when the collapse of Tsarist authority enabled direct contact between Ottoman officials and Turkestan political actors, revealing a relationship marked by both solidarity and suspicion. By highlighting this ambivalence, the study contributes to broader debates on late imperial politics, trans-imperial networks, and the limits of ideological alliances in times of geopolitical crisis.