Fear of Precarity Mistaken as Nationalism

Professor of sociology at Istanbul Bilgi University, Ferhat Kentel says that the common perception of rising nationalism in Turkey is false in a manner that the determining sentiment in contemporary Turkish society is "fear" as a reaction to the dissolution of the nation-state and and its presumptions by globalization.

Kentel revealed the results of a recent research on nationalism in Turkey and he concludes that local identities and community values are gaining strength as a result of this fear, with a great tendency to exclude "others".

He defines two reasons for this trend to be conceived as "rising nationalism":

* Nationalism is the most common word. People lack any other concept to explain themselves. An example is a man who said, "I'm a Çorum -a town in mid Anatolia- nationalist".

* Nationalist discourse and symbols are widespread, so they're used more often to express oneself.

Kentel interviewed 90 people in 16 cities around Turkey for this research, which will be published by Turkey's Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV).

You say that it's fear that's rising in society, not nationalism. People are afraid of what exactly?

They fear from the uncertainties, insecurities, anxieties brought by an ever fast changing world. People experience this transformation as a constant attack on their value systems.

Concepts like "nation-state", "national identity" which we feel comfortable to hold are going down. Modern nation state had a promise founded on progression which would benefit each and every one of us but now this promise is not realizing.

Is it globalization that triggers this transformation?

Globalization introduces an ambiguity to all boundaries. Above all, the belonging foreseen by the national identity has been damaged within this process. With new forms and identities rising, the homogeneity presupposed by a national identity doesn't look possible anymore. Ethnical, religious, local identities are coming forward. Globalization is the most comprehensive word to describe this transformation.

Does this process affect everyone in the same manner?

All are affected but in a different manner and with a different intensity. If you're a worker, if you're living on the outskirts of Istanbul, it's different; in Kayseri, Erzurum it's different.

But even the homogeneity asserted by the nation state wasn't fulfilled; such differences hid within. Now, the promise itself is challenged.

Does the transformation of the capitalism cause this?

It's an important factor. We can never say that capitalism was bounded by national frontiers but the national capital and its relations have also been transformed.

Social securities based on citizenship, protective frames of the social welfare state have been cut off. As a result, now there are social classes who feel insecure and unprotected. There is an issue of social injustice. Both ideological and economical protection of the nation state has been diminished. This brings a risky life.

So everybody turned to cultural values to eliminate this feeling of insecurity and risks. Religion, Turkishness, respect, destiny... Since long time, those are the concepts we use to make a meaning out of this world. This leads to a community spirit to build up and we take this as "nationalism". Everybody knows "nationalism", so uses it to cover such needs.

Does the utilization of nationalist symbols contribute to this trend?

Symbols render the complex as basic. They provide some kind of a guarantee, a sens of sustainability. People replace their own fragmentation with the continuity of those. With the symbols of mosque, flag, Ataturk etc. And they're commonplace.

But different symbols are at stake in different places, cities. Both a kemalist in İzmir and a conservative islamist in Kars use symbols like the national flag to express themselves but in fact they're not alike at all.

What do we have to do then to overcome this situation?

Clear solutions aren't possible. We've to find ways to communicate, to understand each other. An anti-nationalist discourse wouldn't solve the problem. We have to problematize the issue.

A new language, which would enfold the ones different to us should be established. Because all those we encounter are a representation of the troubles people are facing. It's a twisted consciousness regarding those troubles.

But a new language isn't enough, social justice must be reestablished. This is the function of politics, we need new ways of politics which would restore social justice in the society.

And all these aren't limited to Turkey. For example, in France right now Nicholas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal both race their nationalisms for the same reasons. The immigrants living at French banlieues are feeling the same.(TK/EÜ)