Identity Hunters
Written by Gabriel Blondeau The Nicosia derby opposing APOEL FC and AC Ommonia; the biggest rivalry in Cypriot football, is indicative of the larger political situation plaguing the island and how identity-making lays the bedrock for nationalism. The rivalry and conflict are truly built into the history of the two teams: Ommonia was created as […]
Written by: Rozalin Eraslan As significant in nationalism-centric identification efforts especially during the early 20th century, concepts of “local” and “national” can be deemed as having a strict relationship since the establishment of modern Turkey during these periods. Whilst these terms were frequently used to emphasize the ‘development’ for the purpose of narrowing the gap […]
On the eve of Turkey’s military operation in Afrin, Syria, a new state-sponsored TV show made its debut. Mehmetçik: Kut’ül Amare is about the WWI Battle of Kut in modern-day Iraq, in which the Ottoman armies were victorious against the British Empire. Among other state-sponsored TV shows, such as The Last Sultan and Revival: Ertugrul, this latest series also serves as an ostensible instrument for the government agenda.
On the 4th of November 1872, a newspaper in Istanbul featured a rather poetic editorial claiming that “if all the improvements in the world were photographed in a picture, the whole civilised world could only show as much as London”. Signifying somewhat of an internalised orientalism, literary depictions of the ‘civilised’ West were common in late-19th century Ottoman Empire. Nevertheless, there is more to this than meets the eye.
Neo-Ottomanism and New-Turkey are two popular terms to define the current politics of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the 12th and incumbent President of the Republic of Turkey. Since he became Prime Minister in 2003, Erdoğan has increased his clout over government and state. Today, after this year’s contested referendum, he is undoubtedly the strongest man in Turkey and his ideas shape a new ‘national identity’ for the country.
Turkey seems like a new country. With Erdogan’s pressing political figure and the controversial post-coup attempt politics, this article discerns how that this new Turkey is no longer the country it was ten years ago.
Identity Hunters 