Ulusalcilik” in the Akp‟S Populist Discourse
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BEYOND THE “PEOPLE”: FORMATION OF “ULUSALCILIK” IN THE AKP‟S POPULIST DISCOURSE by ERDEM KAYSERĠLĠOĞLU Submitted to the Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Sabancı University July 2015 © Erdem Kayserilioğlu 2015 All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT BEYOND THE “PEOPLE”: FORMATION OF “ULUSALCILIK” IN THE AKP‟S POPULIST DISCOURSE ERDEM KAYSERĠLĠOĞLU M.A. Thesis July, 2015 Supervisor: Dr. Banu Karaca Keywords: AKP, populist discourse, ulusalcılık, Gezi, Republican Rallies Over more than a decade, discussions on “ulusalcılık” became a major topic of debate in Turkish politics. A range of political actors, among them those who position themselves as liberals, nationalists (ülkücüler) as well as different incarnations of the political left, tried to capture the current stance of “ulusalcılık” in different ways with reference to different political, social and cultural events of the past decade. Despite its often noted ill-definedness, the term “ulusalcılık” has nonetheless found a place in the political space. The AKP government and its media supporters appropriate the term „ulusalcılık‟ as a neo-Kemalist nationalist movement that reflects tutelary status quo reactions and cultural elitism of the laicist middle class groups. While those civil organizations that call themselves “ulusalcı” are quite few in actual numbers and vary ideologically, the populist discourse of the AKP gradually cast the „ulusalcılık‟ phenomenon as antithetical of that of „the people‟ („millet‟); as the suppressive elite that attempts to exert tutelary power over the „real people of Turkey‟. This study conceives attempts of different political discourses to fix the meaning of “ulusalcılık” as a hegemonic struggle. In accordance, the thesis illustrates the articulation of “ulusalcılık” in the AKP‟s populist discourse as an empty signifier constituting and combining certain elements provided for the enemy figure. Focusing on particular political moments, namely the Republican Rallies in 2007, the constitutional referendum in 2010 and the Gezi Park protests in 2013, the thesis traces the formation and transformation of “ulusalcılık” in the AKP‟s populist discourse in accordance with the AKP‟s changing discursive field. iv ÖZET “HALK”IN ÖTESĠNDE: AKP‟NĠN POPÜLĠST SÖYLEMĠNDE “ULUSALCILIK”IN OLUġUMU ERDEM KAYSERĠLĠOĞLU Yüksek Lisans Tezi Temmuz, 2015 Tez danıĢmanı: Dr. Banu Karaca Anahtar kelimeler: AKP, popülist söylem, ulusalcılık, Gezi, Cumhuriyet Mitingleri On yıldan fazladır, “ulusalcılık” üzerindeki tartıĢmalar Türkiye siyasetinde önemli bir tartıĢma konusu oluĢturdu. Geçtiğimiz on yıl içinde kendisini liberal, ülkücü ya da sol siyasetin içinde konumlandıran birçok siyasal aktör, “ulusalcılık”ın mevcut konumunu farklı yollardan ve farklı siyasal, sosyal, kültürel olaylara iĢaret ederek anlamaya çalıĢtılar. Birçokları tarafından eksik-tanımlanmıĢ olduğu vurgulansa da “ulusalcılık” siyasal alan içinde yadsınamaz bir konum elde etti. AKP ve onu destekleyen medya araçları tarafından sahiplenildiği Ģekli düĢünüldüğünde, „ulusalcılık‟ vesayetçi statüko reaksiyonlarını ve laik orta sınıfların kültürel elitizmini yansıtan neo-Kemalist bir milliyetçi hareket olarak tanımlandı. Kendisini “ulusalcı” olarak tanımlayan grupların sayıca oldukça az ve ideolojik olarak farklılaĢmasına rağmen, zamanla AKP‟nin popülist söylemi „ulusalcılık‟ olgusunu „millet‟in zıttı olarak tanımladı; „gerçek Türk milleti/halkı‟ karĢısında vesayetçi güç uygulayan baskıcı elitler. Bu çalıĢma, farklı siyasal söylemlerin “ulusalcılık”ın anlamını sabitleme çabalarını bir hegemonya mücadelesi olarak irdeler. Böylelikle, bu tez, düĢman figürü için kullanılan belirli bileĢenleri oluĢturan ve birleĢtiren bir boĢ gösteren olarak „ulusalcılık‟ın AKP‟nin popülist söyleminde eklemlenmesini sergiliyor. 2007 Cumhuriyet Mitingleri, 2010 anayasa referandumu ve 2013 Gezi protestolarına odaklanırken, bu tez AKP‟nin değiĢen söylem zemini ıĢığında „ulusalcılık‟ın kurulması ve dönüĢümünü takip ediyor. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe my deepest gratitude to Banu Karaca, my thesis advisor, for her insightful comments and invaluable guidance which gave me the opportunity to recover my steps along the study and clarify my inquiry. Without the conversations we made and her thoughtful feedbacks this study would not have been possible. I am also thankful to Sibel Irzık for her overall enthusiasm and opinions which broadened the scope of my questions and provided me new perspectives. I am also indebted to BarıĢ Mücen for his thought provoking critiques and questions which avoided me from producing taken for granted deductions. It has been an honor for me to study with such a committee. I have been amazingly fortunate to have peers who provided me comments and suggestions whenever I asked for their advice. In this regard I am thankful to my dearest friends Derya Özkaya and AyĢegül Boyalı. I am also indebted, first and foremost, to Sertaç Kaya ġen for correcting my grammar mistakes, Elif Binici for her detailed effort in translating the quotes I used within the chapters and Caitlin Miles for her revisions and remarks. I appreciate their precious assistance and contribution to the thesis. Last but not the least, I would like to thank my family for their encouragement and support in any kind. I owe my sincere gratitude to Deniz Kocaoğlu for she enabled me to use the METU library resources. Beside her everlasting kindness and tolerance, I am thankful to her for she patiently listened to my boring complaints whenever I need. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. “Ulusalcılık” As an Ill-defined Conceptual Term: …………………………1 1.2. “Ulusalcılık” Between The 1990‟s And The 2000‟s: ………..…………….4 1.2.1. Debates on “Ulusalcılık” After The 2000‟s And During The AKP Era: ………………………………………………………………………7 1.3. Different Appropriations of “ulusalcılık” As a Discursive Entity: …………9 1.4. Aim of The Research And Methodology: …………………………………16 1.4.1. Populist Discourse Theory, Hegemony And Rhetorical Constitution of The Social: …………………………………………….17 1.5. Research Design: ………………………………………………………….20 2. „ULUSALCILIK‟ AS „DEEP STATE‟ 2.1. Rise of The AKP And Defensive Nationalism From 2002 To 2007: ……..25 2.2. Shifting Definitions of „ulusalcı‟: Agitating Organizations, Laicist Elites, Masons?: ……………………………………………………………………….32 2.3. Erdoğan‟s Appeal to The „People‟: Rhetorical Reference to The Ballot Box And The Discourse on Developmentalism: ……………………………………39 2.4. „Ulusalcı‟ Gains Its Temporary Fixation Along The Deep State Acts: .......45 3. „ULUSALCILIK‟ AS „TUTELARY ELITES‟ 3.1. From „Deep State‟ To „Status Quo‟: The AKP‟s Changing Discursive Field: ………………………………………………………………………………….58 3.2. Articulation of „ulusalcılık‟ Within The Context of „Status Quo‟ And „White Elites‟: ………………………………………………………………………….68 3.2.1. CHP Zihniyeti (Mentality of The CHP) And The „Coup Supporters‟: …………………………………………………………….69 3.2.2. CHP Zihniyeti And The „White Turks‟: ………………………...74 3.3. The Pro-government Media Addresses „ulusalcılık‟: Rhetorical Identification of „Elite‟, „Laic‟ and „Tutelage‟ Under The Label “No Voters”………………………………………………………………………….78 4. „ULUSALCILIK‟ AS THE „OLD TURKEY‟ 4.1. Reinstitution of The State Power In The Hands of The AKP From 2010 To 2013: …………………………………………………………………………...88 4.2. The Cost of „Democratization‟ While Majoritarianism Rises: ……………92 4.2.1. The AKP‟s Neoliberal Populism: Family And Education Policies: ……………………………………………………………………….….93 4.2.2. The AKP‟s Neoliberal Populism: Neo-Ottomanism And Social Engineering: ……………………………………………………………97 4.2.3. The Gezi Protests In The Context of The AKP‟s Neoliberal Authoritarianism: ……………………………………………………..100 4.3. “The People” As The Ground of Hegemonic Struggle: …………………104 4.3.1. „The Gezi Protest‟ As The Plot of „ulusalcı‟ Status Quo Forces: ………………………………………………………………………....107 4.3.2. „The Gezi Protest‟ As The Manipulation of The “Interest Rate Lobby”: ……………………………………………………………….116 vii 4.4. Achieving Contiguity Through Metaphoric Subversion: „The Gezi Protest‟ In The AKP‟s Counter-hegemonic Discourse: ……………………………….120 5.CONCLUSION: …………………………………………………………………...127 References: ...………………………………………………………………………...138 viii 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. “Ulusalcılık” As An Ill-defined Conceptual Term Despite its wide use in the Turkish political context, the term “ulusalcı” has a confusing effect with regard to its conceptual range. “Ulusalcılık” has been a disputed phenomenon since the late 1990‟s and more significantly after the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi/AKP) came to rule in the 2002 general elections. Within this period a range of political actors, among them those who positioned themselves as liberals, nationalists (ülkücüler) as well as different incarnations of the political left, tried to capture “ulusalcılık” either as an ideology or movement, or contextually as both of them, in different terms in accordance with their political background. Despite varied appropriations of the term, debates on “ulusalcılık” gained currency after the rise of political Islam during the 90‟s and in the early 2000‟s with the AKP‟s coming to power. Regarding this time period, analyses on the phenomenon as well as the dominant political discourse commonly accepted “ulusalcılık” as a reactionary neo-nationalist movement against the AKP‟s reformist administration and neoliberal restructurings in the political, economic and cultural fields. However, since different ideological positions addressed the “ulusalcı” phenomenon with indefinite