OTTOMAN PARALLAX other existence praxis

With the signing of the Versailles Treaty in 1921, the 21st century inherited an enclosure of multiple modes of existence that once adapted to constantly shifting environments. The dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and the emergence of new nation-states would come to symbolise what is now called the Global North. Under the guise of universal laws and moralities, Indigenous humanities and engineering were suppressed through an ontological colonialism rooted in imperial warfare. Beneath the appearance of global stability, a political ecology cold war is unfolding : critics of Western imperialism are silenced, and millennia of Indigenous knowledge that sustain planetary biodiversity are being erased—an ongoing genocide, ecocide, and urbicide legitimised as civilisation.

As seen during COP 30 in Brazil, growing recognition of other modes of existence has highlighted the social, environmental, and atmospheric diversity needed for planetary survival. Yet environmental imperialism makes such recognition increasingly difficult. Resistance to its aristocratic and colonial power structures confronts entrenched elites who defend privileges reproduced through institutions and educational systems. The worldwide acknowledgement of Indigenous Ecologies—what Alberto Magnani calls “globalisation from the grassroots”—echoes Article 12 of Nagoya’s report The Future of Our Environments from Indigenous Customs and Ethics. Both remind us that Enlightenment universalism, post-war internationalism, and contemporary market-society globalisation reiterate earlier authoritarian forms of Western imperial governance. While some societies that have over-tamed their environments face slow decay, others remain attuned to Gaia’s volatile rhythms, where chaos can be both destructive and rejuvenating.

It is within this geopolitical crossroads—the Turkish capital, Ankara—that we aim to examine such movements of thought. As the heir to the Ottoman Empire, whose last sultan anticipated a century of turmoil, Ankara now hosts refugees. Are we living in the twilight Gramsci described, a lingering moment unfolding across multi-scalar crises that multiply like bacteria ? And what does it mean to reflect from within it ?

Bringing together participants from Turkey, Japan, Australia, and France, this gathering invites exploration of the Anthropocene’s pedigree through the connections and frictions among diverse contexts. We will consider other existence praxis—forms of knowledge that arise from chaos—not because they are more numerous, but because they resonate at the core of how we understand and reconstruct our built environments.