The spectacle of/as the state: The 2016 coup in Turkey and the performance of sovereignty

Abstract

Examining the settings of the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, this paper traces the relationship between state power, agency and media. On 15 July 2016, reports emerged through social networking sites and other mainstream media of armoured military tanks blocking the entrances to the Bosphorus and Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges in Istanbul. Appearing via FaceTime on CNN Türk, President Erdoğan called people onto the streets to confront the occupying forces. Following the foiled coup attempt, officials praised the public for using communication technology to topple the coup plotters. I juxtapose the different settings where the coup unfolded to argue these events are symbolic phenomena, underscoring how the imaginary of ‘national unity’ is mediated to (re)affirm state power.