Imputing Diaspora

An Examination of Turkish Political Rhetoric in Germany

Bibliographic Data

ID5089877
AuthorsCameron Thibos (corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume19
Issue2-3
Pages170-194
Publication date2017-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDiaspora A Journal of Transnational Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1044-2057 • E-ISSN: 1911-1568
PublisherUniversity of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3138/diaspora.19.2-3.170
OpenAlexW2616305743
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited43

In this article, I examine two different frames of diasporic identity found within the rhetoric of Turkish politicians when they address audiences in Germany. I analyze speeches given in 2011 by the then Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and leader of the opposition, Kemal Kılıçdaroğ lu, during the fiftieth anniversary celebrations of Turkish labor migration to Germany. I argue that both wove narratives of identity that emphasized the continuing relevance of Turkey to the lives of expatriate Turks as well as their continued inclusion in Turkish society. I suggest that these were deliberate attempts to construct or maintain imagined communities of diasporic Turks as part of broader political projects. Such transnational reinterpretations of "domestic" issues constitute an understudied dimension of diasporic engagement and diasporic identity formation

Aesthetics · Art · Diaspora · Expatriate · Identity (music · Literature · Media studies · Narrative · Political science · Politics · Rhetoric · Sociology · Theology · Turkish · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Gender Studies · Law · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Turkey's Politics and Society