Subverting 'supra-identity' politics in the 'New Turkey'

Blog post by Ece Yoltay, Ahi Evran University, Turkey

My Identities article, ‘Queering trialectics among space, power, and the subject: spatial representations and practices of othered identities in Turkey’, is grounded in a critical analysis of the Foucaldian conceptualization of the relation between power and the subject. It does so by examining the construction of the concept of ‘supra-identity’ with the Repressive and Ideological State Apparatus in Turkey. Since the Republic of Turkey was established as a nation-state in a predominantly Muslim society, various legal and social regulations determining state-citizen relationships have been shaped in its political history (single-party period 1923-1946, multi-party period 1946-2018, Presidential system 2018-present). While each government in this history produces its own political interpretation of the 'ideal' citizen, the emphasis on Turkish and Muslim identities, particularly within the heteronormative social structure associated with Islam, has been common value for defining ‘supra-identity’. In Turkey's multicultural society, homogenizing differences over these identity values of the 'majority' has been deemed necessary for the 'unity of the state'.

In 2016, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the leader of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP – ruling the state since 2002), unveiled his socio-political vision for the country through discourse of the ‘New Turkey’, as a political signal for a regime change from the parliamentary system to the present presidential system. This outlined a gradual shift towards a more conservative societal structure as a departure from the Turkish modernization endeavor associated with Kemalism (the founding ideology of the Republic) towards an Islamic-oriented state initiative. This has heightened the claim that identity diversity poses a threat to the 'unity of the state' by particularly marginalizing those who do not embrace or appropriate conservative values, which are firmly anchored not only in Turk and Muslim identities but also in heteronormative values.
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In the ‘New Turkey’, this marginalization based on societal segregation through the definition of ‘supra-identity’ specifically relies on delineating the uses and users of public spaces. In the genealogy of the subject, Foucault theorizes such relation between power and space through discursive and performative practices to which the body is exposed. Space itself operates as a realm of closure, surveillance, prohibition and punishment, contributing to the creation of ‘positionality’ and ‘situatedness’ within the discipline of the body. Drawing from Foucault's conceptualization, citizenship, constructed with non-inclusive determinations based on ‘supra-identity’ in Turkey's multicultural society, becomes a crucial criterion for understanding who uses public spaces and how.

My critical analysis delves into how marginalized ethnicities, beliefs and genders forge alternative social and spatial relations in response to the representations and practices of ‘supra-identity’ within the recent political landscape of Turkey. To unravel the intricate interplay between space, power, and the subject, this research focuses on the social production of LGBT-friendly spaces in the country's capital, Ankara. This approach enables direct observation of the relationships between the state and its citizens in the city, offering alternative socio-spatial dynamics in the political context of the ‘New Turkey’. These spaces represent alternative subject formations, challenging the disciplinary aspects of the body imposed by the politics of ‘supra-identity.’ Consequently, this article scrutinizes the spatial representations and practices of LGBT-friendly spaces in Ankara, serving as a case study for unraveling bio-power dynamics in Turkey.

This research is rooted in a comprehensive examination of LGBT-friendly spaces in Ankara, utilizing socio-spatial observations and user interviews. Two key rationales underpin the choice of Ankara as the focus for this empirical research: (1) Given Turkey's economic and cultural context, Ankara's status as a metropolis provides opportunities for the public visibility of marginalized identities, allowing for the analysis of their socio-spatial formation as alternative citizens; (2) As the capital of the country, Ankara plays a crucial role in directly understanding how ideological and administrative practices and state representations operate.

Considering these rationales, Ankara serves as a host for both oppressive and controlling mechanisms, as well as opportunities for resistance, embodying the complex spatial relationship between power and the subject in Turkey. Over six months in 2016, I conducted observations on the spatial representations and practices of LGBT-friendly spaces outlined in the guide by Kaos-GL (LGBT+ Association of Ankara) published in 2011. These spaces, identified through the experiences of LGBT+ individuals residing in Ankara, encompass ten social and cultural spaces, including pubs, cafes, and bookstores.

The socio-cultural inequalities prevalent in the ‘New Turkey’ have sparked a demand for social spaces that facilitate interactions among citizens, fostering collective resistance against the politics of ‘supra-identity’. The subversive creation of spaces becomes imperative to thwart a monolithic subject formation by altering spatial representations and practices determined by power in the disciplining of the body. This approach establishes a transformative model of human existence, allowing individuals to spatially experience or produce alternative possibilities in the relationship between power and the subject through the diversity and plurality inherent in identity formations.

In this respect, the act of queering space serves as a method for generating alternative spatial representations and practices. LGBT-friendly spaces, consequently, hold the potential to exist outside or beyond the power structures constructed through the politics of ‘supra-identity’, thereby opposing inequality and injustice. Given the diminishing tolerance for diverse identities in the ‘New Turkey,’ these spaces become realms of encounter and solidarity. Here, individuals who fall outside the prescribed boundaries of ethnic origin, belief and gender values within the definition of ‘supra-identity’ can freely express their social beings, challenging the conservative political structures in the ‘New Turkey’.

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​Image credit: Photo by Alexis Magnone on Unsplash

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Read the Identities article:
Yoltay, Ece. (2023). Queering trialectics among space, power, and the subject: spatial representations and practices of othered identities in Turkey. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power. DOI: 10.1080/1070289X.2023.2295165

Read further in Identities:

Transnational ways of belonging and queer ways of being. Exploring transnationalism through the trajectories of the rainbow flag

Constructing homonationalist identities in relation to religious and LGBTQ+ outgroups: a case study of r/RightWingLGBT   ​OPEN ACCESS

Queer habitus: bodily performance and queer ethnography in Lebanon