One Hundred Years of Polarization: Contesting Nationalisms in Turkey

Abstract

The Republic of Turkey has become increasingly polarized in the last decade. There is a democratic backslide, economic instability, and lack of human rights under the presidency of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. These developments, however, did not change Erdoğan ́s voting base. The recent presidential elections on May 28, 2023, have resulted in his favor with 52.18% of the votes. This thesis argues that the political decisions of voters in Turkey are based on ideology more than on provided services. The two main ideologies present in the public sphere are religious nationalism and secular nationalism. Through historical analysis of government policies and discourses, this thesis shows the development of different nationalisms. It takes the public sphere as a site of power hierarchies and argues that the regime of visibility governments create forms the national subject. The secular national subject is formed in the early Republican era through Kemalist reforms and regulation of religion by the state. The religious national subject has been excluded from the public sphere until the 1980s and only gained presence with the rise of the AKP in 2002. Atatürk has become the ultimate symbol of secularism and modernity for secular nationalists, while Erdoğan is the symbol of anti-secular dictatorship. For religious nationalists, however, Atatürk is the symbol of oppression and Erdoğan is the savior. This thesis argues that the increasing polarization of these contesting nationalisms is due to the sacralization of political leaders and ideologies.