Tales of past, present, and future
Mythmaking and nationalist discourse in Turkish politics
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6086219 |
|---|---|
| Authors | M Zafer Çetin (0000-0002-4410-2290) |
| Year | 2004 |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 347-365 |
| Publication date | 2004-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0266-6952 • E-ISSN: 1469-9591 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/1360200042000296708 |
| OpenAlex | W1972579093 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
This paper analyzes the representations of the past and the use of symbolic forms of legitimization as modes of power and domination in contemporary Turkish politics. It examines the ways through which histories are socially constructed, and the relationships forged between this construction and the ideological beliefs of agents. The paper also address issues of identity and underlines the critical need for an awareness of a living past. The first part of this paper deals with the motivations and behaviors of the elite and focuses especially on nationalist discourse, seeing it as the motor driving the larger political discourse, i.e. modernization. Thus, Turkish nationalism is examined here as a modernizing and secularizing project. In the second half of the paper, the cultural theory of Bakhtin is applied to show how rhetoric, symbols, and myth can be used not only to create new identities or to legitimize the existing system but also to subvert hegemonic discourse and resist change in terms of identity. This leads to the conclusion that identities are discursive and that there is a dynamic process generated in the ongoing struggles between different groups and discourses. Finally, it is concluded that even though discourses are always historically and socially positioned and constituted, nevertheless, specific contextual examples help promote understanding of similar cases in other contexts. Writing history is as important as making history. (Kemal Ataturk
Aesthetics · Elite · Hegemony · Identity (music · Ideology · Linguistics · Literature · Mythology · Narrative · Nationalism · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Rhetoric · Sociology · Turkish · Contemporary and Historical Greek Studies · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Turkey's Politics and Society · Gender Studies · Law · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,35 |
| Citation span | 2009 - 2021 (13) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |