National identity, citizenship and pluralism in Turkey: the turban question

Abstract

The contemporary process of globalization involves a tension between cultural helerogenization and cultural homogenization which has made the relationship between the nation-state and its members a problematical issue. It is out of this context that the modern , liberal-democratic notion of citizenship has become focus of attention for the students of political science. The modern, liberal-democratic idea of citizenship is based upon a distinction between public and private which embraces the principle of equality before the law in the public while relegating all particularities and differences to the private. This thesis tries to explain the “turban question” in Turkey by contextualizing it with reference to the points raised by the contemporary critics of modern, liberal-democratic conception of citizenship.