Erdoğanism’s Undesired Citizens

Abstract

In the post-coup attempt Turkey, AKP has developed a staunchly nationalist narrative in a populist attempt to extend its “base beyond Islamists or even AKP voters to a more amorphously defined ‘the people.’ In this understanding, ‘the people’ (or ‘the nation’) are defined more by who is excluded from it: Kurds, Academics for Peace, Gulenists, leftists, etc, all of whom are cast as traitors.” Kemalists are framed “as elites who are out of touch with the ‘real’, authentic values of ‘the people’, and they are usually charged with visiting historical horrors on simple people in the name of Westernization or progress.” Practicing Muslims who are not loyal to Erdogan such as the participants of the Gulen Movement or Suleymancis, or followers of Adnan Oktar, or even Islamist groups such as Furkan Vakfi group whose leader has been in prison because of his criticism of Erdogan are also undesired citizens of Erdoganism in addition to the liberals, leftists, socialists, Alevis and Kurds who do not accept Erdogan’s Turkish Muslim nationalism that does not want recognize Kurds as equal citizens. All of these groups have easily been constructed as terrorists, internal enemies of the nation and pawns of the Western powers that do not want Turkey to lead the Muslim world.