Abstract
This article analyses some of the key political discussions in Turkey, which are identity dichotomy, securitization and desecuritization cycle of religion under the rule of the Justice and Development Party particularly in the post-2007 period. The article argues that mostly from 2007 onwards, the ruling party started the de-securitization process of religion as a referent object. The article further points out that from 2014 onwards a shift in threat perception can be analyzed utilizing anti-Westernization. The West interchangeable meant and homogenized as the Christian world, is framed as Islamophobic and therefore the new threat to Islamic identity is not coming from the domestic secular identity but from the outside, the Western Christian identity/civilization. The conceptualization of the theoretical framework is built upon the Copenhagen School’s societal securitization aspect. The first part focuses on the Copenhagen School of security in general and identity securitization in particular. The latter sections evaluate the transformation of religious and secular identities through securitization and counter securitization by certain segments of the public. The transformation is analyzed through the ruling periods of the AKP. The data consists of the AKP party manifestos, official reports, election campaigns and speeches given by former Prime Minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan between the periods of 2002-2019.
References
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AKP English. 2011. 2023 Political Vision, http://www.akparti.org.tr/english/akparti/2023-political-vision
AKP Bylaws. 2003. Article 4, http://www.akparti.org.tr/english/akparti/2023-political-vision
Aydındağ, D., & Işıksal, H. (2018). (De)securitization of Islam in Turkey. Revista de Cercetare si Interventie Sociala 62: 294-305.
BBC News. 2007. ‘Excerpts of Turkish army statements’, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6602775.stm
BBC News. 2011. ‘Turkey election: victorious Erdogan pledges consensus'. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-13744972 .
Barkey, H.J. (2018). Restoring Religion’s Role In Foreign And Domestic Policy In Erdogan’s Turkey. The Caravan, no. 1820. https://www.hoover.org/research/restoring-religions-role-foreign-and-domestic-policy-erdogans-turkey
Bora, T. (1996). İnşa döneminde Türk milli kimliği. Toplum ve Bilim 71:168-194.
Buzan, B., Waever, O., & de Wilde, J. (1998). Security: A new framework for analysis. London: Lynn Riennner Publisher.
Cebeci, M. (2016). De-Europeanisation or counter-conduct? Turkey’s democratisation and the EU. South European Society and Politics 21, no.1: 119-132.
Cizre, Ü. (2008). Secular and Islamic politics in Turkey: The making of the Justice and Development Party. New York: Routledge.
Çınar, M. (2003). The Justice and Development Party in Turkey’, IDEA, 2003, http://www.networkideas.org/news-analysis/2003/01/the-justice-and-development-party-in-turkey
Çınar, A. (2005). Modernity, Islam, and secularism in Turkey: Bodies, places, and time. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.
Çınar, M., & Duran, B. (2008). The specific evolution of contemporary political Islam in Turkey and it’s difference. In Secular and Islamic politics in Turkey: The making of the Justice and Development Party, edited by Ümit Cizre, 17-41. New York: Routledge.
Çınar, M. (2008). The Justice and Development Party and the Kemalist establishment. In Secular and Islamic politics in Turkey: The making of the Justice and Development Party, edited by Ümit Cizre, 109-132. New York: Routledge.
Çınar, M. (2018). Turkey’s ‘Western’ or ‘Muslim’ identity and the AKP’s civilizational discourse. Turkish Studies 19, no.2: 176-197.
Daily Sabah. (2019). Erdoğan decries West's double standards in defining terrorism. https://www.dailysabah.com/diplomacy/2019/03/18/erdogan-decries-wests-double-standards-in-defining-terrorism
Dalacoura, K. (2017). ‘East’ and ‘West’ in contemporary Turkey: threads of a new universalism. Third World Quarterly 38, no.9: 2066-2081.
Dalay, G., & Friedman, D. (2013). The AK Party and the evolution of Turkish political Islam’s foreign policy. Insight Turkey 15, no.2:123-140.
Dağı, İ. (2005). Transformation of Islamic political identity in Turkey: rethinking the west and westernization. Turkish Studies 6, no.1: pp.167-186.
Deutsche Welle. (2017). Erdogan accuses EU of 'crusade' against Islam. https://www.dw.com/en/erdogan-accuses-eu-of-crusade-against-islam/a-37979126
Diez, T. (2005). Constructing the self and changing others: Reconsidering 'normative power Europe'. Millennium- Journal of International Studies 33, no.3: 613-636.
Dinc Belcher, G. (2012). Journey from Islamism to conservative democracy: The politics of religious party moderation in Turkey. PhD diss, Available from Proquest. AAI3498331.
Düzgit, S.A. (2016). De-Europeanisation through discourse: A critical discourse analysis of AKP’s election speeches. South European Society and Politics 21, no. 1: 45-58.
Esposito, J. (2005). The clash of ignorances: The war on terror must not compromise Muslim rights. The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 22: 56-59.
Evrensel.net. (2007). ‘Cumhuriyet mitingleri’, https://www.evrensel.net/haber/245040/cumhuriyet-mitingleri /
Foucault, M. (1980). Power/Knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings 1972-77. New York: Pantheon.
Göksel, O. (2019). Foreign policy making in the age of populism: The uses of Anti-Westernism in Turkish politics. New Middle Eastern Studies 9, no.1: 13-35.
Gül, A. (2007). T.C. Başbakanlik Avrupa Birliği Genel Sekreterliği, https://www.ab.gov.tr/files/pub/abuyp.pdf .
Gülmez, S.B. (2013). Rising euroscepticism in Turkish politics: The cases of the AKP and the CHP. Acta Politica 48, no.3: 326-344.
Haber 7. (2014). ‘Erdoğan'dan İslam ülkelerine tarihi çağrı’. http://www.haber7.com/dis-politika/haber/1232748-erdogandan-islam-ulkelerine-tarihi-cagri
Hale, W., Özbudun, E. (2010). Islamism, democracy and liberalism in Turkey: The case of the AKP. London: Routledge.
Heper, M., Sayari, S. (2012). The Routledge handbook of modern Turkey. New York: Routledge.
Heper, M. (2013). Islam, conservatism, and democracy in Turkey: Comparing Turgut Özal and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Insight Turkey 15, no.2: 141-156.
Hill, E. (2010). Major reforms cast as a power grab. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/briefings/2010/09/201098133815256515.html
Hoffman, M., & Werz, M. (2018). Turkey’s ‘New Nationalism’ Amid Shifting Politics Further Analysis of Polling Results. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/reports/2018/02/11/446164/turkeys-new-nationalism-amid-shifting-politics/
Hürriyet. (2007). Gül adaylıktan çekildi. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/gul-adayliktan-cekildi-6466839
Hürriyet. (2017). Cumhurbaşkanı Recep Tayyip Erdoğan'ın Hollanda'ya yönelik 'Srebrenitsa katliamı' tepkisine Hollanda'dan yanıt geldi. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/dunya/erdogandan-srebrenitsa-cikisi-hollandadan-yanit-geldi-40394978
Hurriyet Daily News. (2018). Erdoğan blasts West over Islamophobia. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/erdogan-urges-new-foundation-for-world-peace-130384
Jung, D., Raudvere, C. (2008). Religion, politics, and Turkey’s EU accession. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Kaliber, A., & Düzgit, S.A. (2017). Is Turkey de-Europeanising?: Encounters with Europe in a candidate country. New York: Routledge.
Mis, N., & Aslan, A. (2018). AK Parti’nin 15 yılı: Siyaset. Ankara: SETA Kitapları.
Öktem, K. 2013. Why Turkey’s mainstream media chose to show penguins rather than protests. The Guardian, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/09/turkey-mainstream-media-penguins-protests
Öniş, Z. (2001). Political Islam at the crossroads: from hegemony to co- existence. Contemporary Politics 7, no. 4: 281-298.
Öniş, Z. (2010). Multiple faces of the new Turkish foreign policy: underlying dynamics and critique. GLODEM Working Paper Series.
Özbudun, E. (2014). AKP at the crossroads: Erdogan’s majoritarian drift. South European Society and Politics 19, no.2: 155-167.
Özgenç, M. (2013). RTUK’ten Halk TV ve Ulusal Kanal’a ceza. Hürriyet Gündem. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/23486445.asp
Rainsford, S. (2007). BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6554099.stm.
Saatçioğlu, B. (2016). De-Europeanisation in Turkey: The case of the rule of law. South European Society and Politics 21, no.1: 133-146
Sipahioğlu, B. (2017). Shifting from Europeanization to de-Europeanization in Turkey: How AKP instrumentalized EU negotiations. The Turkish Yearbook of International Relations 48: 51-67.
Talbot, V. (2013). Turkey and Iran: resetting relations?. ISPI Analysis. https://www.ispionline.it/sites/default/files/pubblicazioni/analysis_224_2013_0.pdf.
Tas, H. (2014). Anti Westernism in Turkey.
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-asia/antiwesternism-in-turkey/
The Guardian. (2013). ‘Recep Tayyip Erdoğan dismisses Turkey protesters as vandals’, 2013 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/09/recep-tayyip-erdogan-turkey-protesters-looters-vandals.
Toker, H. (2014). More national less European? The comparison of the last two general elections in Turkey. European Journal of Communication 30, no.2: 188-208.
Vultee, F. (2011). Securitization as a media frame: What happens when the media speak security. In Securitization theory: How security problems emerge and dissolve, edited by Thierry Balzacq, 77-94. London: Routledge.
Wæver, O. (2008). The Changing Agenda of Societal Security. In Globalization and Environmental Challenges, edited by Brauch, H.G., Oswald Spring, Ú., 581-593. Berlin: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
Wilkinson, C. (2011). The limits of spoken words: from meta-narratives to experiences of security. In Securitization theory: How security problems emerge and dissolve, edited by Thierry Balzacq. London: Routledge.
Williams, M.C. (2003). Words, images, enemies: securitization and international politics. International Studies Quarterly 47, no.4:528.
Wodka, J. (2017). Institutional aspects of the (de-)Europeanization of Turkish political parties. The case of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Republican People’s Party (CHP). Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 19, no.2: 153-170.
Yavuz, H. (2003). Islamic political identity in Turkey. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Yavuz, H. (2006). The emergence of a new Turkey: Islam, democracy, and the AK Parti. Utah: The University of Utah Press.
Yeşiltaş, M. (2013). The transformation of the geopolitical vision in Turkish foreign policy. Turkish Studies 14, no. 4:661-687.
Yeşiltaş, M. (2014). Turkey’s quest for a new international order: The discourse of civilization and the politics of restoration. Perceptions 19, no. 4: 43-76.
Yıldız, A. (2008). “Problematizing the intellectual and political vestiges from Welfare to Justice and Development”. In Secular and Islamic Politics in Turkey: The Making of the Justice and Development Party, edited by Ümit Cizre, 44. London: Routledge.
Yılmaz, İ and G. Bashirov. (2018). The AKP after 15 years: emergence of Erdoganism in Turkey. Third World Quarterly 30, no.9: 1812-1830.
AKP English. 2011. 2023 Political Vision, http://www.akparti.org.tr/english/akparti/2023-political-vision
AKP Bylaws. 2003. Article 4, http://www.akparti.org.tr/english/akparti/2023-political-vision
Aydındağ, D., & Işıksal, H. (2018). (De)securitization of Islam in Turkey. Revista de Cercetare si Interventie Sociala 62: 294-305.
BBC News. 2007. ‘Excerpts of Turkish army statements’, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6602775.stm
BBC News. 2011. ‘Turkey election: victorious Erdogan pledges consensus'. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-13744972 .
Barkey, H.J. (2018). Restoring Religion’s Role In Foreign And Domestic Policy In Erdogan’s Turkey. The Caravan, no. 1820. https://www.hoover.org/research/restoring-religions-role-foreign-and-domestic-policy-erdogans-turkey
Bora, T. (1996). İnşa döneminde Türk milli kimliği. Toplum ve Bilim 71:168-194.
Buzan, B., Waever, O., & de Wilde, J. (1998). Security: A new framework for analysis. London: Lynn Riennner Publisher.
Cebeci, M. (2016). De-Europeanisation or counter-conduct? Turkey’s democratisation and the EU. South European Society and Politics 21, no.1: 119-132.
Cizre, Ü. (2008). Secular and Islamic politics in Turkey: The making of the Justice and Development Party. New York: Routledge.
Çınar, M. (2003). The Justice and Development Party in Turkey’, IDEA, 2003, http://www.networkideas.org/news-analysis/2003/01/the-justice-and-development-party-in-turkey
Çınar, A. (2005). Modernity, Islam, and secularism in Turkey: Bodies, places, and time. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.
Çınar, M., & Duran, B. (2008). The specific evolution of contemporary political Islam in Turkey and it’s difference. In Secular and Islamic politics in Turkey: The making of the Justice and Development Party, edited by Ümit Cizre, 17-41. New York: Routledge.
Çınar, M. (2008). The Justice and Development Party and the Kemalist establishment. In Secular and Islamic politics in Turkey: The making of the Justice and Development Party, edited by Ümit Cizre, 109-132. New York: Routledge.
Çınar, M. (2018). Turkey’s ‘Western’ or ‘Muslim’ identity and the AKP’s civilizational discourse. Turkish Studies 19, no.2: 176-197.
Daily Sabah. (2019). Erdoğan decries West's double standards in defining terrorism. https://www.dailysabah.com/diplomacy/2019/03/18/erdogan-decries-wests-double-standards-in-defining-terrorism
Dalacoura, K. (2017). ‘East’ and ‘West’ in contemporary Turkey: threads of a new universalism. Third World Quarterly 38, no.9: 2066-2081.
Dalay, G., & Friedman, D. (2013). The AK Party and the evolution of Turkish political Islam’s foreign policy. Insight Turkey 15, no.2:123-140.
Dağı, İ. (2005). Transformation of Islamic political identity in Turkey: rethinking the west and westernization. Turkish Studies 6, no.1: pp.167-186.
Deutsche Welle. (2017). Erdogan accuses EU of 'crusade' against Islam. https://www.dw.com/en/erdogan-accuses-eu-of-crusade-against-islam/a-37979126
Diez, T. (2005). Constructing the self and changing others: Reconsidering 'normative power Europe'. Millennium- Journal of International Studies 33, no.3: 613-636.
Dinc Belcher, G. (2012). Journey from Islamism to conservative democracy: The politics of religious party moderation in Turkey. PhD diss, Available from Proquest. AAI3498331.
Düzgit, S.A. (2016). De-Europeanisation through discourse: A critical discourse analysis of AKP’s election speeches. South European Society and Politics 21, no. 1: 45-58.
Esposito, J. (2005). The clash of ignorances: The war on terror must not compromise Muslim rights. The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 22: 56-59.
Evrensel.net. (2007). ‘Cumhuriyet mitingleri’, https://www.evrensel.net/haber/245040/cumhuriyet-mitingleri /
Foucault, M. (1980). Power/Knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings 1972-77. New York: Pantheon.
Göksel, O. (2019). Foreign policy making in the age of populism: The uses of Anti-Westernism in Turkish politics. New Middle Eastern Studies 9, no.1: 13-35.
Gül, A. (2007). T.C. Başbakanlik Avrupa Birliği Genel Sekreterliği, https://www.ab.gov.tr/files/pub/abuyp.pdf .
Gülmez, S.B. (2013). Rising euroscepticism in Turkish politics: The cases of the AKP and the CHP. Acta Politica 48, no.3: 326-344.
Haber 7. (2014). ‘Erdoğan'dan İslam ülkelerine tarihi çağrı’. http://www.haber7.com/dis-politika/haber/1232748-erdogandan-islam-ulkelerine-tarihi-cagri
Hale, W., Özbudun, E. (2010). Islamism, democracy and liberalism in Turkey: The case of the AKP. London: Routledge.
Heper, M., Sayari, S. (2012). The Routledge handbook of modern Turkey. New York: Routledge.
Heper, M. (2013). Islam, conservatism, and democracy in Turkey: Comparing Turgut Özal and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Insight Turkey 15, no.2: 141-156.
Hill, E. (2010). Major reforms cast as a power grab. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/briefings/2010/09/201098133815256515.html
Hoffman, M., & Werz, M. (2018). Turkey’s ‘New Nationalism’ Amid Shifting Politics Further Analysis of Polling Results. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/reports/2018/02/11/446164/turkeys-new-nationalism-amid-shifting-politics/
Hürriyet. (2007). Gül adaylıktan çekildi. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/gul-adayliktan-cekildi-6466839
Hürriyet. (2017). Cumhurbaşkanı Recep Tayyip Erdoğan'ın Hollanda'ya yönelik 'Srebrenitsa katliamı' tepkisine Hollanda'dan yanıt geldi. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/dunya/erdogandan-srebrenitsa-cikisi-hollandadan-yanit-geldi-40394978
Hurriyet Daily News. (2018). Erdoğan blasts West over Islamophobia. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/erdogan-urges-new-foundation-for-world-peace-130384
Jung, D., Raudvere, C. (2008). Religion, politics, and Turkey’s EU accession. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Kaliber, A., & Düzgit, S.A. (2017). Is Turkey de-Europeanising?: Encounters with Europe in a candidate country. New York: Routledge.
Mis, N., & Aslan, A. (2018). AK Parti’nin 15 yılı: Siyaset. Ankara: SETA Kitapları.
Öktem, K. 2013. Why Turkey’s mainstream media chose to show penguins rather than protests. The Guardian, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/09/turkey-mainstream-media-penguins-protests
Öniş, Z. (2001). Political Islam at the crossroads: from hegemony to co- existence. Contemporary Politics 7, no. 4: 281-298.
Öniş, Z. (2010). Multiple faces of the new Turkish foreign policy: underlying dynamics and critique. GLODEM Working Paper Series.
Özbudun, E. (2014). AKP at the crossroads: Erdogan’s majoritarian drift. South European Society and Politics 19, no.2: 155-167.
Özgenç, M. (2013). RTUK’ten Halk TV ve Ulusal Kanal’a ceza. Hürriyet Gündem. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/23486445.asp
Rainsford, S. (2007). BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6554099.stm.
Saatçioğlu, B. (2016). De-Europeanisation in Turkey: The case of the rule of law. South European Society and Politics 21, no.1: 133-146
Sipahioğlu, B. (2017). Shifting from Europeanization to de-Europeanization in Turkey: How AKP instrumentalized EU negotiations. The Turkish Yearbook of International Relations 48: 51-67.
Talbot, V. (2013). Turkey and Iran: resetting relations?. ISPI Analysis. https://www.ispionline.it/sites/default/files/pubblicazioni/analysis_224_2013_0.pdf.
Tas, H. (2014). Anti Westernism in Turkey.
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-asia/antiwesternism-in-turkey/
The Guardian. (2013). ‘Recep Tayyip Erdoğan dismisses Turkey protesters as vandals’, 2013 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/09/recep-tayyip-erdogan-turkey-protesters-looters-vandals.
Toker, H. (2014). More national less European? The comparison of the last two general elections in Turkey. European Journal of Communication 30, no.2: 188-208.
Vultee, F. (2011). Securitization as a media frame: What happens when the media speak security. In Securitization theory: How security problems emerge and dissolve, edited by Thierry Balzacq, 77-94. London: Routledge.
Wæver, O. (2008). The Changing Agenda of Societal Security. In Globalization and Environmental Challenges, edited by Brauch, H.G., Oswald Spring, Ú., 581-593. Berlin: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
Wilkinson, C. (2011). The limits of spoken words: from meta-narratives to experiences of security. In Securitization theory: How security problems emerge and dissolve, edited by Thierry Balzacq. London: Routledge.
Williams, M.C. (2003). Words, images, enemies: securitization and international politics. International Studies Quarterly 47, no.4:528.
Wodka, J. (2017). Institutional aspects of the (de-)Europeanization of Turkish political parties. The case of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Republican People’s Party (CHP). Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 19, no.2: 153-170.
Yavuz, H. (2003). Islamic political identity in Turkey. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Yavuz, H. (2006). The emergence of a new Turkey: Islam, democracy, and the AK Parti. Utah: The University of Utah Press.
Yeşiltaş, M. (2013). The transformation of the geopolitical vision in Turkish foreign policy. Turkish Studies 14, no. 4:661-687.
Yeşiltaş, M. (2014). Turkey’s quest for a new international order: The discourse of civilization and the politics of restoration. Perceptions 19, no. 4: 43-76.
Yıldız, A. (2008). “Problematizing the intellectual and political vestiges from Welfare to Justice and Development”. In Secular and Islamic Politics in Turkey: The Making of the Justice and Development Party, edited by Ümit Cizre, 44. London: Routledge.
Yılmaz, İ and G. Bashirov. (2018). The AKP after 15 years: emergence of Erdoganism in Turkey. Third World Quarterly 30, no.9: 1812-1830.
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