Pater familias and homo nationalis: Understanding nationalism in the case of Turkey

Abstract

The aim of this article is to question, on the basis of the findings of a public opinion survey conducted by the authors in February 2006, the commonsense belief in the recent rise of nationalism in Turkey. Building on a conceptual and theoretical framework that rejects the view of nationalism as a conjunctural force that waxes and wanes in particular historical moments, the article will explore how nationalism is understood by the ‘people on the street’ in order to make sense of what we would describe as the ‘continual’ appeal of nationalism in Turkey. In this context, we will argue that the ‘tidal wave approach’ to nationalism, which treats it as a force hitting on particular occasions, or as a temporary aberration, does scant justice to the pervasiveness of nationalism in contemporary societies, western or non-western, including Turkey. Drawing on Hannah Arendt’s concept of ‘family man’, we will explore the role of family in the production and reproduction of nationalism in Turkey with a view to showing the extent to which nationalism is embedded in the fabric of society, delimiting the boundaries of responsibility and providing a template that lays down the standards of morality.