The Myth of the Military-Nation

Altinay examines how the myth that the military is central to Turkey's national identity was created, perpetuated, and acts to shape politics. Tracing how the ideology of militarism is maintained and its implications for ethnic and gender relations, she considers the challenges facing Turkey as it moves from being a plural to a pluralistic society.

'The Myth of the Military Nation is exemplary of the politically engaged scholarship that has acquired momentum with a new generation of Turkish scholars committed to exposing national myths to overcome past and present injustices in Turkish society. Altinay ably combines ethnography with rich and historically informed scholarship to demonstrate the historical production of the idea of a military-nation as a foundational myth of Turkish nationalism, and offers a critique of the institutional and ideological sources of its hegemony that is all the more effective for its heart-felt but subdued tone.' - Arif Dirlik, University of Oregon, USA

'The Myth of the Military-Nation is a precious gift to those many of us who want to understand the cultural processes through which manhood and national belonging come to be inseparable from soldiering - and the courage and cost involved in reaching for an unmilitarized way of being. - Cynthia Cockburn, City University London, UK

'With all the news about Turkish politics due to the Cyprus, Iraq and EU debates, now is exactly the time for all of us to read this smart feminist investigation of the Turkish political interplay between masculinity, men, statist nationalism and soldiering. Altinay is one of the most insightful political anthropologists I know. ' - Cynthia Enloe, Author of Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women's Lives

'This is a work which contributes essential substance to modern history, peace and security studies, gender studies and to the theory and practice of education. It should be read by every educator concerned by the disservice to critical learning done by the militarization of education.' - Betty A. Reardon, Peace Education Centre, Teachers College, USA

Ayse Gul Altinay received her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from Duke University and is currently teaching at Sabanc? University in Istanbul. Her research and writing have focused on militarism, nationalism, violence, memory, gender, and sexuality. She is the author of The Myth of the Military-Nation: Militarism, Gender and Education (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004); co-author of Violence Against Women in Turkey: A Nationwide Survey (with Ye?im Arat, Punto, 2009, www.kadinayoneliksiddet.org/English.html), Torunlar ("Grandchildren", with Fethiye Çetin, Metis, 2009); and editor of Vatan, Millet, Kad?nlar (Ileti?im, 2000) and Ebru: Reflections on Cultural Diversity in Turkey, a photography project by Attila Durak (Metis, 2007, www.ebruproject.com). Her co-authored book with Ye?im Arat, Türkiye'de Kad?na Yönelik ?iddet (Violence Against Women in Turkey) was awarded the 2008 PEN Duygu Asena Award.