Beyond the State: Reframing Kemalism from Neo-Kemalism to Civic Atatürkism in Post-1980 Turkey

Date

2025-1-06

Author

Özdemir, Enes Utku

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This thesis explores the evolution of Kemalism in post-1980 Turkey, concentrating on the rise of Civic Atatürkism from the Neo-Kemalism of the 1990s. It posits that Civic Atatürkism emerged as a response to the de-Kemalization of state institutions and the shortcomings of post-Kemalism, illustrating Turkey's identity negotiation through the reframing of Atatürk. Civic Atatürkism enables diverse actors to reinterpret and recontextualize Republican symbols, using them to advance varied agendas and prioritizing continual civic reinvention over rigid institutional preservation. This adaptability maintains the relevance of the Kemalist cosmology within an increasingly fragmented and pluralistic context. Rather than enforcing a single, unified, hegemonic frame, Civic Atatürkism embraces multiple, decentralized, overlapping, and occasionally contradictory framings, connecting historical continuity with contemporary challenges.

Subject Keywords

Neo-Kemalism, Civic Ataturkism, Framing Theory, Nationalism, Postmodernity

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/112991

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis