Cats and Populism (working title) Istanbul, March 2016 Under the constant threat of terror a city gets paranoid. Everything is suspicious. Everything is being observed. You yourself are trying not to look suspicious. There is a lot of police. You plan your day so to avoid risk. It is safer to stick to the small streets. You should avoid crowded places. There are rumours about car bombs waiting to be detonated. The autocratic regime tries to bring order in the chaos. It is safer at night because there are less people. At night in the back alleys you find the cats. In contrast to the strict rules imposed by the autocratic regime the cats bring on chaos. They do not tolerate any form of authority. It feels safe being around the cats.