Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Context of Turkey

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Patriarchal Theory Reconsidered

  • 492 Accesses

Abstract

In this chapter, the Turkish state and its relationship with contesting agents have been explored. First citizenship in Turkey is discussed as the relationship between the state and the citizen. Second, Kemalism and its others have been discussed as the relationship between patriarchy and its contesting forces. The role of the military has been discussed as the guardians of Kemalism. Arbitrary use of power is discussed in the context of the marginalization of citizens and the opponents of the Turkish state. Finally gender and citizenship have been discussed to discern the evolution of the women’s question in Turkey.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The phrase “Kemalist” refers to those who adhere to the principles of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of Turkey. Therefore, Ataturk and Kemalists are used interchangeable through the text. They mostly consist of the military, the judiciary, and the Republican people’s party and their electorate.

  2. 2.

    The project of nationalism refers to vision of the ruling elite with regard to Turkey’s position within the world and how the dynamics of power within the polity was disbursed and shared. In other words, the ruler–subject binary, which favored the state over its subjects and male over female, was decided by the elite, during the early years of the republic. This status quo has been challenged by several forces within the polity, including feminists and liberals, to situate the public at the center and the state at the periphery.

  3. 3.

    Further to this discussion, the participants of this research had very little to criticize about Kemalists reforms, as it was taken for granted that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was a feminist.

  4. 4.

    Interviewed on December 1, 2013, Istanbul.

Bibliography

  • Ahiska, M. (2003), “Occidentalism: The Historical Fantasy of the Modern”, South Atlantic Quarterly, Vol. 102, No. 2/3, pp. 351–379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ahmad, F. (1993), The Making of Modern Turkey, London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ahmad, F. (2003), Turkey: Quest For Identity, London: Oneworld Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (2014), Adding Injustice to Injury, Amnesty International, International Secretariat.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arat, Y. (2005), “Women’s Challenge to Citizenship” in (eds) F. Birtek and T. Dragonas Citizenship and the Nation-State, New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aydinli, E. (2009), “A Paradigmatic Shift for the Turkish Generals and the End of The Coup Era in Turkey”, Middle East Journal, Vol. 63, No. 4, pp. 581–596.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bland, D. (2001), “Patterns of Liberal Democratic Civil-Military Relations”, Armed Forces and Society, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 525–540.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brockett, G. (ed) (2011), Towards a Social History of Modern Turkey, London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cavdar, G. (2010), “Islamist Moderation and the Resilience of Gender: Turkey’s Persistent Paradox”, Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions, Vol. 11, No. 3-4. Gender and Political Religions.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cinar, A. (2008), “Subversion and Subjugation in the Public Sphere: Secularism and The Islamic Headscarf”, Signs, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 891–913.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cizre, U. (2011), “Disentangling the Threads of Civil-Military Relations in Turkey: Promises and Perils”, Mediterranean Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 57–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dagi, H. (2005), “Transformation of Islamic political identity in Turkey: Rethinking the West and Westernization”, Turkish Studies Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 21–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donmez, R. (2011), “Beyond State-Led Nationalism, Ideal Citizenship for Turkey” in (eds) R. Donmez and P. Enneli Societal Peace and Ideal Citizenship for Turkey, Plymouth: Lexington.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eligur, B. (2010), The Mobilization of Political Islam in Turkey, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Haynes, J. (2010), “Politics, Identity and Religious Nationalism in Turkey: From Ataturk to the AKP”, Australian Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 64, No. 3, pp. 312–327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heper, M. (1985), The State Tradition in Turkey, Hull: The Eothen Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heper, M. (2005b), “The Justice and Development Party Government and the Military in Turkey”, Turkish Studies, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 215–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heper, M. (2011). “Civil-Military Relations in Turkey: Toward a Liberal Model?” Turkish Studies, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 241–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ince, B. (2012a), Citizenship and Identity in Turkey, London: I.B Tauris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ince, B. (2012b), “Citizenship Education: Inclusive and Exclusive”, Oxford Review of Education, Vol. 38, No. 12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, G. (2007), “Continuity and Change: Prospects for Civil Military Relations In Turkey”, International Affairs, Vol. 83, No. 2, pp. 339–355.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kadioglu, A. (1996), “The Paradox of Turkish Nationalism and the Construction of Official Identity”, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 177–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kadioglu, A. (2005), “Can we Envision Turkish Citizenship as non membership?” in (eds) F. Keyman and A. Icduygu Citizenship in a Global World, New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahraman, H. (2005), “The Cultural and Historical Foundation of the Turkish Citizenship” in (ed) F. Keyman Icduygu, A Citizenship in a Global World, New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kandiyoti, D. (1987), “Emancipated but Unliberated? Reflections on the Turkish Case”, Feminist Studies, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 317–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kandiyoti, D. (1991b), “Identity and Its Discontents”, Millennium, Vol. 20, No. 3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karaosmanoglu, A. (2011), “Transformation of Turkey’s Civil Military Relations Culture and International Environment”, Turkish Studies, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 253–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kardam, F., and Cengiz, K. (2011), “Republican Citizenship in Turkey: Historical Development, Perceptions and Practices”, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 47, No. 1, pp. 151–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaygusuz, O., and Icduygyu, A. (2010), “The Politics of Citizenship By Drawing Borders: Foreign Policy and the Construction of National Citizenship”, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 40, No. 6, pp. 26–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keyman, F., and Icduygu, A. (2003), “Globalisation, Civil Society and Citizenship in Turkey: Actors, Boundaries and Discourses”, Citizenship Studies, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 219–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kogacioglu (2005), “Citizenship in Context, Rethinking Women’s Relationship to the Law” in (eds) F. Birtek and T. Dragonas Citizenship and the Nation-State in Greece and Turkey, New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lakoff, G. (1996, 2002), Moral Politics, Chicago: Chicago University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Landes, D., and Landes, R. (2001), “Girl Power: Do Fundamentalists Fear Our Women?” New Republic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mardin, S. (1990), “European Culture and the Development of Modern Turkey” in (eds) A. Evin and G. Denton Turkey and the European Community, Opladen: Budrich.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, R. (2007), “Rights, Reproduction, Sexuality and Citizenship in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey”, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 347–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parla, A. (2001), “Honor of the State: Virginity Examinations in Turkey”, Feminist Studies, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 65–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pope, N., and Pope, H. (2004), Turkey Unveiled, New York: Overlook Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Somer, M. (2007), “Moderate Islam and Secularist Opposition in Turkey: Implications for the World, Muslim and Secular Democracy”, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 7, pp. 1271–1289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tekeli, S. (1981), “Women in Turkish Politics” in (ed) N. Abadan-Unat Women in Turkish Society, Leiden: E.J Brill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vali, F. (1971), Bridge Across the Bosporus: The Foreign Policy of Turkey, London: John Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vardar, D. (2005), “European Union-Turkey Relations and the Question of Citizenship: in (eds) F. Keyman and Icduygu (2004), Citizenship in a Global World, New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, J. (2003), “State Feminism, Modernisation and the Turkish Republican Women”, NWSA Journal, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 145–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuval-Davis (1997), Gender and Nation, London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zuhrer, E. (2004), Turkey: A Modern History, London: I.B Tauri.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom

    Filiz Akgul

Authors
  1. Filiz Akgul
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Akgul, F. (2017). The Context of Turkey. In: Patriarchal Theory Reconsidered. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49766-2_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation