Modernist Nationalism

Statism and National Identity in Turkey

Dados Bibliográficos

ID11047272
AutoresAyhan Akman (Sabancı Üniversitesi, autor correspondente)
Ano2004
Volume32
Fascículo1
Páginas23-51
Data de publicação2004-03-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoNationalities Papers (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0090-5992 • E-ISSN: 1465-3923
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1080/0090599042000186214
OpenAlexW1976593152
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas15
Referências citadas10

A few years ago, the New York Times featured an article on the ancient city of Antioch and its modern-day inhabitants. Having lost its ancient grandeur a long time ago, Antioch (Antakya) is described as today a place that “even most Turks consider ... [to be] remote and undistinguished.” The article features interviews with two members of the same family: the 110-year-old Ali Baklaci and his 20-year-old grandson Hasan Negruz. An old-timer who lived through the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, subsequent French mandate and eventual incorporation into Turkey in 1939, Ali Baklaci is unequivocal regarding his identity. In a matter-of-fact manner, he declares, “We cannot forget our origins. We are Arab people.” The grandson, Hasan Negruz, however, has a different view. While Negruz is “one of many local youths who have taken advantage of Syria's offer of free education,” the article informs us, “the experience did not turn him into a pan-Arabist.” Instead, Negruz formulates his identity in a way that is remarkably different from his grandfather's: “I am an Arab who is also a citizen of Turkey, and that's fine. I like being Turkish because this country is more modern than the Arab countries.”

Aesthetics · Ancient history · Art · Identity (music · Mandate · National identity · Nationalism · Ottoman empire · Political science · Politics · Turkish · Classics · History · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · Middle East Politics and Society · Philosophy · Turkey's Politics and Society