Spectacle, Power, and Survival

This article examines Tamaşa-yi Dünyâ by Evangelinos Misailidis through the lens of spectacle, oppression, and the fluidity of power, arguing that the novel stages authority as a performative and unstable force rather than a fixed hierarchy. By analyzing key episodes such as the preface, the Naples carnival, and pivotal legal encounters, the study explores how power is exercised through deception, theatricality, and shifting alliances rather than sheer coercion. The novel presents oppression as a continuous process that is contested rather than endured, revealing how individuals navigate legal, religious, and social structures to survive. Drawing on Homi Bhabha’s concept of the third space, the article demonstrates how Tamaşa-yi Dünyâ resists rigid national or religious categorizations, emphasizing the ambivalence of identity and governance in the late Ottoman Empire. By situating the novel within a broader discourse of political spectacle and performative authority, this study highlights its engagement with systemic injustice and the precarious strategies individuals employ to navigate oppressive conditions. Ultimately, Tamaşa-yi Dünyâ emerges as both a critique of entrenched hierarchies and an exploration of the ways in which power is continually reproduced, challenged, and subverted

Legislation · Negotiation · Byzantine Studies and History · Media Discourse and Social Analysis · Turkey's Politics and Society