This study explores the symbolic foundations of power-making and legitimation through the image-management practices of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government in Turkey. How state rulers and public officials present themselves in official ceremonies, the ways they dress, talk, and act, reflect official attempts to construct an image of the state and an idealized form of state-society relations to the public. In the last decade the AKP, with roots in political Islam, initiated serious changes in state imagery. This talk analyzes these changes discussing what they mean for Turkish politics. It shows that the AKP government has increasingly resorted to theatrical and symbolic form of politics as it encountered more opposition to its rule. It contends that the AKP’s electoral success also relates to a new state image that communicates intimacy and socio-cultural affinity with fellow citizens and that seeks to connect with the electorate through emotional appeals.
Senem Aslan gained her PhD from the Interdisciplinary Program in Near and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle. Since 2010 she has been assistant professor of politics at Bates College, where she teaches courses on Middle East politics, state-building, and nationalism. Her book, Nation-Building in Turkey and Morocco: Governing Kurdish and Berber Dissent, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2015. She also published articles in the International Journal of Middle East Studies, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, and the European Journal of Turkish Studies. Her current research focuses on politics of symbolism and imagery in modern Turkey.
Senem Aslan, Assistant Professor, Politics, Bates College