Browsing by Subject "anti-Westernism"

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Open Access
In Between Democracy and Secularism: The Case of Turkish Civil Society
(2013) Cevik, S.; Tas H.
Since 2011, the Arab uprisings, signaling a new wave of political mobilization, have restored belief in the potential for civil society to make democratic openings. Nevertheless, the academic literature up to the present has attributed the enduring authoritarianism in the Middle East region to the weakness or dominantly Islamist nature of civil society and promoted the development of secular platforms. This article argues that the discussion about civil society is misplaced, and the democratic potential of civil society is not related to its being Islamic or secular, but rather to its attachment to the state. For this purpose, it examines the emergence of a secularist civil societal current in Turkey with special focus on one of its major manifestations, the Republic Rallies in 2007. © 2013 Copyright Editors of Middle East Critique.
Open Access
“Never trust the West:” understanding anti-Westernism(s) in Turkish media
(2023-06) Aras, Ümit Erol
Despite the burgeoning literature on Turkish anti-Westernism on elite and public opinion levels, the role of the media in and discourses of anti-Westernism remains relatively understudied. To remedy this, after introducing Occidentalist literature and various strands of anti-Westernism, this study presents a thematic analysis of around 750 articles from five nationwide newspapers published between November 2020 and May 2022. Widespread distrust, hostility, and insecurity towards an Occidentalist caricature of the West are documented in Turkish media coupled with conspiracy theories; these are present in both anti- and pro-government newspapers. Turkish media, in unison, presents the West as Turkey’s arch-rival and responsible for most of its past and present woes. Turkish media also often instrumentalizes the West in deflecting attention from policy failures of the political camps they align with. These representations justify homegrown authoritarianism and undemocratic measures by stoking an “under-siege” mentality, which is argued to require swift and assertive measures against external and internal agents puppeteered by the West. It is argued that the constant negative representations fuel anti-Westernism, driving a wider wedge between the West and Turkey.