Abstract
In the aftermath of the June 2015 elections, Turkey entered a new phase, which can be defined as a reemphasis of the default settings of the republic: one state, one nation, one flag, one language. This chapter argues that ethnic homogenization and the (re)imagination of the people according to a Schmittian friend/enemy distinction powered both historical periods. To assess the return of the 1930s in Turkey under the AKP, and then the reinvention of the Turkish nation under Atatürk and Erdogan, the paper focuses on parallels and similarities between then and now regarding the perception of the Kurdish issue as a security question and the narration of the state as being under an existential threat by domestic enemies. We examine the recent shift toward policies of ethnic and societal homogenization under Erdogan as an object lesson in continuities from early years of the republic.
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Notes
- 1.
The majority of contemporary literature refers to Turkey as a competitive (Esen and Gümüşçü 2018) or fully authoritarian regime (Çalışkan 2018). Previously it was described as an illiberal democracy. The transition from a defective democracy to an autocracy has already been crossed in AKP rule; see also various democracy indices such as the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (although there is much to criticize about BTI).
- 2.
In the prevailing literature, the term ultra-nationalism is often used to describe Turkish nationalism. Roger Griffin defines ultra-nationalism as a form of nationalism that has xenophobia at its core and aims to legitimize itself through narratives of historical greatness and victories against alleged enemies, as well as expressing itself through vulgarized forms of genetics and rationalized ideas of national superiority (Blamires and Jackson 2006, 452). During the 1930s in Turkey, the idea of a superior Turkish nation was rationalized with two pseudoscientific theories developed by the state: the so-called Sun Language Theory (Güneş Dil Teorisi), which proposed all human languages to be descendants of one proto-Turkic language, and the Turkish History Thesis (Türk Tarih Tezi), which claimed that Turks migrated from Central Asia into the world, populating and bringing civilization. The latter was an example of pre-Nazi scientific racism and was created to reject imaginaries in the West of the Turks as “belonging to the yellow race,” hence as secondary people (Çagaptay 2006; Aytürk 2004; Gürpınar 2013).
- 3.
The only allowed party was the Republican People’s Party (CHP) founded by Mustafa Kemal.
- 4.
Between August 2015 and 15 March 2016, curfews were declared in the neighborhoods of Sur and Yenişehir in Diyarbakır city and the towns of Lice, Silvan, Hazro, Hani, Dicle and Bismil in Diyarbakır province. They were also declared in the towns of Cizre, Silopi, and İdil in Şırnak province, and of Nusaybin, Dargeçit and Derik in Mardin province, Yüksekova in Hakkari province, Arıcak in Elazığ province, Sason in Batman province and Varto in Muş province; see ICG report, https://www.refworld.org/docid/56ebf69b4.html. In Diyarbakır province alone, 43 villages were exposed to a round-to-clock military curfews; see AJ report, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/05/turkey-declares-curfew-43-villages-diyarbakir-170530084449370.html.
- 5.
For a detailed report on the extent of war, see the United Nations report on the human rights situation in South-East Turkey (July 2015 to December 2016), February 2017, accessible at www.ohchr.org.
- 6.
See the International Crisis Group report for a detailed analysis: https://www.crisisgroup.org/europe-central-asia/western-europemediterranean/turkey/turkeys-pkk-conflict-kills-almost-3000-two-years.
- 7.
The Dersim operation lasted 17 days in total and killed 7954 local population, however, the number most likely will be higher as this does not include the killings before the operation was launched. More than 3500 people were forcefully displaced (Watts 2000).
- 8.
Regarding the homogenization politics, not surprisingly Dersim is the only Province (today in total 81) where the ethnic (Kurdish) and religious (Alevi) minorities live in the majority.
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Burç, R., Tokatlı, M. (2020). A Second Foundation? Constitution, Nation-Building, and the Deepening of Authoritarianism in Turkey. In: Rayner, J., Falls, S., Souvlis, G., Nelms, T.C. (eds) Back to the ‘30s? . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41586-0_8
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