Neo-Ottomanism and the Politics of Emotions in Turkey: Resentment, Nostalgia, Narcissism

by Nagehan Tokdogan, John William Day (Translator)

Overview

This open access book explores the politics of emotions under the ruling Justice and Development Party in Turkey and the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It examines how emotional politics and, particularly, the use of a Neo-Ottomanist narrative created a new national mood and contributed to the durability of Erdoğan’s rule. The author analyses the interactions between national narratives, symbolic politics and emotions. She argues that these interactions have formed the basis of Erdoğan’s popular support for more than 20 years. The book is a valuable resource for scholars of political science and sociology, as well as policymakers interested in the rise of authoritarianism in Turkey.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783031487231
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date:	06/17/2024
Series:	Palgrave Studies in Political Psychology
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	466 KB

About the Author

Nagehan Tokdoğan is a post-doctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development’s Center for the History of Emotions. Her research focuses on the political sociology of emotions, nationalism, conservatism and authoritarianism in Turkey, as well as right-wing extremism, gender studies, and men and masculinities.

 

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2.  On Emotions, Politics and Political Symbols.- Chapter 3. Neo-Ottomanism as an Alternative Narrative of National Identity.- Chapter 4. From Victimization to Omnipotence: The Pathos of Erdoğan as a Constituent Symbol of the Neo-Ottomanist Narrative.- Chapter 5. Istanbul as the Symbolic Space of the Neo-Ottomanist Narrative: Nostalgia, Romanticism and Domestic Imperial Greed.- Chapter 6. Sites of an Islamic desire for homecoming: the Hagia Sophia and Çamlıca Mosque.- Chapter 7.  Towards the Construction of a Neo-Ottomanist Myth: The “Legend” of 15 July and National Narcissism.- Chapter 7. Conclusion.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Tokdoğan brings together cutting-edge perspectives on symbolic and emotional politics to analyse the rise of Neo-Ottomanism as a powerful political narrative under the AKP and Erdoğan, which has transformed the national habitus and national mood of contemporary Turkey. Engaging, scholarly, and enlightening, this book will be essential reading for scholars of political emotions, nationalism, and Turkish politics and society.” (Dr. Jonathan G. Heaney, Queens University Belfast)

“The author approaches the challenging period we are passing through with crucial questions and develops an impressive understanding of the political meanings and relations of everyday language and ordinary objects. Contrary to theses declaring the end of politics (or history, or the subject), this study draws our attention to new forms and means of politics, reminding us that these might be the means not just of power, but of opposition, too.” (Prof. Aksu Bora, Hacettepe University)