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Antagonisms, Political Frontiers, and Nationalisms in Turkey
Abstract
This paper will focus on the varying articulations of nationalism into the discourses of main political actors in the last decade of Turkey. Both the political achievements of the Kurdish movement and the rule of the Justice and Development Party (an Islamist conservative party) during this period of time dislocated the political centre which had historically been the Kemalist nation-state. The arising antagonisms and new political frontiers of the new era also created a shift in the nationalist subject-position(s), transforming the limits of nationalism and articulating new elements into the nationalist discourse. Using the discourse theory of Ernesto Laclau, the paper will try to trace this shift, seeking a new perspective and conceptualization to understand the nature of nationalism(s) in Turkey. Secondly, the paper will endeavour to show how new antagonisms and political frontiers are constituted through new nationalistic discourses at a time when we are closing to the general election of June 2015.
Discipline
Political Science
Geographic Area
None
Sub Area
Nationalism