Dynamics of Polarization in Turkey: Insights From a Social History of the 1970s
The proposed graphic book explores the cultural logic of factionalism and hostile group formation in Turkey in the 1970s, a period of extreme social and political unrest culminating in a military coup in 1980. The larger question is whether there is a universal logic of hostile group formation that also can help to explain Turkey s current extreme factionalization and, if so, what role is played by local cultural values and specific social and political dynamics. As an extreme case in which such sociocultural patterns consistently undermine attempts at cooperation and unity, Turkey is an important test case for understanding the dynamics of political and social fragmentation and the emergence of inter-group violence. The book approaches these questions by focusing on central themes, like hostile group formation, authoritarian hierarchy, militant masculinity and honor, and key cultural concepts of hero and traitor. These themes have been analyzed and will be developed further through a pictorial representation of oral history narratives set within key historical events. A graphic approach allows the inclusion of a fuller spectrum of the variables that provide a context for factionalism (including gender, social class and ethnicity), brings them into conversation with each other, and ideally allows the reader to grasp underlying social and political patterns and draw conclusions about their relevance to today s polarized society and the potential for inter-group violence.
Final report
The purpose of the project was to write a book in graphic form about the logic of factionalism and hostile group formation in Turkey in the 1970s, a period of extreme social and political unrest culminating in a military coup in 1980. The book aims to explore the role played by local cultural values and specific social and political dynamics in factionalization with the aim of contributing 1) to a more universal understanding of hostile group formation in political life, and 2) to understanding the dynamics of Turkey's current extreme polarization. The stories in the book were inspired by 32 interviews carried out in Turkey in 2014 that produced detailed oral histories of the 1970s.
Implementation:
The book develops these themes through a linked series of drawings that create a narrative around identifiable characters, set within key historical events of the 1970s, ending with three scenes set in the present. I have dramatically linked the stories of the four main characters to create a narrative that ideally will attract a reader regardless of familiarity with the setting or historical context, though that will be given in a three-page written introduction. One of the requests made by Princeton University Press reviewers was to bring the book, which is set primarily in the 1970s, up to date. Due to the difficult political situation in Turkey, I and the artist decided not to make any explicit mention of politics. Rather, we ended with a gallery of four contemporary fictional children of the main characters, with brief descriptions of their lives that incorporate current social divisions and issues of concern.
Stockholm University Department of Asian, Middle Eastern, and Turkish Studies provided 240,000 SEK to hire Ergün Gündüz, a well-known and very accomplished Turkish artist, to illustrate the book on a work for hire basis. His professional career as a caricaturist and artist spans 1976 to the present. He has worked in a variety of media, including film, and has published a number of original graphic novels. I analyzed the oral history transcripts and sketched out particular individuals and events, building them into a narrative around the above themes and around key historical events and turning-points in the lives of these individuals. In the end, the characters and events, while based on real people, were heavily fictionalized in order to develop linked characters and a coherent narrative that would keep the reader's attention through the book. Accordingly, the publisher has decided to offer the book as a graphic novel.
I traveled to Istanbul four times to work intensively with the artist to coordinate my 80-page storyboard text with his illustrations: February1-6 and October 30-November 1, 2018, April 12-30, May 13-31, 2019 (between April 6 and 9, I attended a conference on the topic in Oslo, Norway). The work meetings with the author were conducted in Turkish and the text also was translated into Turkish for the artist, although the first edition of the book will be in English. As the project developed, we sent scans of the drawings and text edits back and forth by email. We anticipate another meeting when the book is entirely finished at the end of November to check the manuscript and make last-minute adjustments. As we went over the storyboard text word for word to align the text with the pictures, it became clear that I needed to rewrite the storyboard so that it was in a form useful to an artist, more like a screenplay for a movie than a descriptive text. The written text must be condensed into action, word bubbles or explanatory squares, all more succinct than the original text. This required a significant investment of time.
I also prepared a book proposal, which I sent to Princeton University Press (PUP). PUP sent my proposal to three anonymous readers, two Turkey experts and one expert on graphic books. The responses were extremely positive; one of the Turkey experts called it "brilliant". The book, with the preliminary title of Turkish Kaleidoscope, is now under contract with Princeton University Press (PUP), to be published in 2020.
The illustrations are three-quarters finished. There was some delay when, in response to suggestions made by the PUP readers, I had to rewrite sections of the storyboard, followed by translation and, again, word-for-word coordination of text with drawings. As the artist sends me finished drawings, I align them with the storyboard sequence and add text to specific bubbles and boxes. A specialist in Istanbul sets the text electronically on a separate layer in the file containing the actual drawings. We estimate the finished book to be about 100 pages in length and expect to submit the final completed version to PUP by the end of November. At that point, PUP might request additional edits, which will take more time.
Results:
1. This book makes the case for putting serious social questions in graphic form to reach a wider audience and demonstrates that graphics do not limit analysis, but enhance it. The book asks what causes people to sacrifice their lives, health and sometimes families for a single autocratic leader, engage in violent acts, and then endanger oneself further by splitting off from that leader. It does not give an ideological or event-driven analysis, but examines the underlying cultural logic that frames Turkish political life.
A graphic book vividly embeds such abstract concepts, ideas and processes within highly evocative life experiences that bring history alive to readers and inspires insights into contemporary motivations and processes beyond the Turkish example. The graphic form presented a challenge to translate all of my analytical goals into more telegraphic form, but as the project developed, I realized that the graphic form actually allows more nuances than a straight analysis. I can easily imagine this book being assigned in a classroom where students can use the experiences of the characters for a rich discussion of a variety of issues.
2. The project has revealed a surprising and exciting synergy among more than a dozen scholars around the world who are interested in the question of how traditions of authoritarianism have been institutionalized and reproduced through time, with an emphasis on Eurasian political traditions and their effect on surrounding societies, including Russia, Europe, what is now Turkey, and Central Asia. Many of these scholars have been working on related issues independently. My public talks (see below) catalyzed the first meetings. We now have developed a consortium that is actively seeking funding for a European-level joint project.
3. Given reactions so far, once the book is published in English, I expect there to be great interest in a Turkish-language version. It has been reported that Turkish participants in the violent movements of the 1970s are reluctant to speak about their role to their children, so the book might play a role in encouraging inter-generational dialogue.
International Dimensions, New Research Questions, and Collaboration
I had proposed spending a month in Ankara, the capital, at the invitation of Bilkent University, but since the artist lives in Istanbul and the collaborative work with him required a great deal of intense work and time, I limited my stay to Istanbul. I did, however, pursue the relationship with Bilkent and have written two grant proposals to develop a collaborative relationship desired by both partners between Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies and Bilkent University Doğramacı Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research. These proposals are for matching funds for an international, interdisciplinary workshop to be held at, and partially funded by, the Doğramaci Center. The aim of the workshop is to develop a joint proposal for funding for a multi-year project around questions that emerged in the analysis and development of the present project and which found synergy with the work of other scholars. The consortium now consists of thirteen international scholars from different disciplines with different areas of expertise and a common interest in the question of how the DNA of autocratic leadership is reproduced over space and time. We address this by studying similarities and differences in sociopolitical traditions in regions historically linked with Europe. Using Russia, Hungary, and Turkey as core case studies, this project will examine: 1) Comparative attributes of autocratic leadership, and 2) The persistence and longevity of certain behavioral patterns related to autocracy, such as, factionalism and patron-client relations.
Dissemination:
2019
• Invited lecture, "The Disunity Default: Processes of Polarization in Turkey", Oslo University, Norway, May 7.
• Invited lecture, " The Disunity Default: Processes of Polarization in Turkey", Oslo University, Norway, May 7.
• Commenter, International Workshop, "Cold War Islamisms", Free University of Berlin, March 15-16
• Commenter, "The Steppe Tradition in International Relations", University of Oslo, January 24, Oslo, Norway.
2018
• Talk, Middle East Studies Association Annual Meeting, "A Cultural Logic of Turkish Political Life". San Antonio, TX, November
18.
• I could not attend the American Anthropological Association meetings in San Jose, California, because the dates overlapped
(11/14-18).
• Invited Speaker, “Turkey Today”, National Security Fellows Program, Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of
Government, Cambridge, MA. November 14.
• Invited Speaker, "The End of the Idea of Liberal Islamism?", Austrian Institute for International Affairs, Vienna, November 8.
Implementation:
The book develops these themes through a linked series of drawings that create a narrative around identifiable characters, set within key historical events of the 1970s, ending with three scenes set in the present. I have dramatically linked the stories of the four main characters to create a narrative that ideally will attract a reader regardless of familiarity with the setting or historical context, though that will be given in a three-page written introduction. One of the requests made by Princeton University Press reviewers was to bring the book, which is set primarily in the 1970s, up to date. Due to the difficult political situation in Turkey, I and the artist decided not to make any explicit mention of politics. Rather, we ended with a gallery of four contemporary fictional children of the main characters, with brief descriptions of their lives that incorporate current social divisions and issues of concern.
Stockholm University Department of Asian, Middle Eastern, and Turkish Studies provided 240,000 SEK to hire Ergün Gündüz, a well-known and very accomplished Turkish artist, to illustrate the book on a work for hire basis. His professional career as a caricaturist and artist spans 1976 to the present. He has worked in a variety of media, including film, and has published a number of original graphic novels. I analyzed the oral history transcripts and sketched out particular individuals and events, building them into a narrative around the above themes and around key historical events and turning-points in the lives of these individuals. In the end, the characters and events, while based on real people, were heavily fictionalized in order to develop linked characters and a coherent narrative that would keep the reader's attention through the book. Accordingly, the publisher has decided to offer the book as a graphic novel.
I traveled to Istanbul four times to work intensively with the artist to coordinate my 80-page storyboard text with his illustrations: February1-6 and October 30-November 1, 2018, April 12-30, May 13-31, 2019 (between April 6 and 9, I attended a conference on the topic in Oslo, Norway). The work meetings with the author were conducted in Turkish and the text also was translated into Turkish for the artist, although the first edition of the book will be in English. As the project developed, we sent scans of the drawings and text edits back and forth by email. We anticipate another meeting when the book is entirely finished at the end of November to check the manuscript and make last-minute adjustments. As we went over the storyboard text word for word to align the text with the pictures, it became clear that I needed to rewrite the storyboard so that it was in a form useful to an artist, more like a screenplay for a movie than a descriptive text. The written text must be condensed into action, word bubbles or explanatory squares, all more succinct than the original text. This required a significant investment of time.
I also prepared a book proposal, which I sent to Princeton University Press (PUP). PUP sent my proposal to three anonymous readers, two Turkey experts and one expert on graphic books. The responses were extremely positive; one of the Turkey experts called it "brilliant". The book, with the preliminary title of Turkish Kaleidoscope, is now under contract with Princeton University Press (PUP), to be published in 2020.
The illustrations are three-quarters finished. There was some delay when, in response to suggestions made by the PUP readers, I had to rewrite sections of the storyboard, followed by translation and, again, word-for-word coordination of text with drawings. As the artist sends me finished drawings, I align them with the storyboard sequence and add text to specific bubbles and boxes. A specialist in Istanbul sets the text electronically on a separate layer in the file containing the actual drawings. We estimate the finished book to be about 100 pages in length and expect to submit the final completed version to PUP by the end of November. At that point, PUP might request additional edits, which will take more time.
Results:
1. This book makes the case for putting serious social questions in graphic form to reach a wider audience and demonstrates that graphics do not limit analysis, but enhance it. The book asks what causes people to sacrifice their lives, health and sometimes families for a single autocratic leader, engage in violent acts, and then endanger oneself further by splitting off from that leader. It does not give an ideological or event-driven analysis, but examines the underlying cultural logic that frames Turkish political life.
A graphic book vividly embeds such abstract concepts, ideas and processes within highly evocative life experiences that bring history alive to readers and inspires insights into contemporary motivations and processes beyond the Turkish example. The graphic form presented a challenge to translate all of my analytical goals into more telegraphic form, but as the project developed, I realized that the graphic form actually allows more nuances than a straight analysis. I can easily imagine this book being assigned in a classroom where students can use the experiences of the characters for a rich discussion of a variety of issues.
2. The project has revealed a surprising and exciting synergy among more than a dozen scholars around the world who are interested in the question of how traditions of authoritarianism have been institutionalized and reproduced through time, with an emphasis on Eurasian political traditions and their effect on surrounding societies, including Russia, Europe, what is now Turkey, and Central Asia. Many of these scholars have been working on related issues independently. My public talks (see below) catalyzed the first meetings. We now have developed a consortium that is actively seeking funding for a European-level joint project.
3. Given reactions so far, once the book is published in English, I expect there to be great interest in a Turkish-language version. It has been reported that Turkish participants in the violent movements of the 1970s are reluctant to speak about their role to their children, so the book might play a role in encouraging inter-generational dialogue.
International Dimensions, New Research Questions, and Collaboration
I had proposed spending a month in Ankara, the capital, at the invitation of Bilkent University, but since the artist lives in Istanbul and the collaborative work with him required a great deal of intense work and time, I limited my stay to Istanbul. I did, however, pursue the relationship with Bilkent and have written two grant proposals to develop a collaborative relationship desired by both partners between Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies and Bilkent University Doğramacı Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research. These proposals are for matching funds for an international, interdisciplinary workshop to be held at, and partially funded by, the Doğramaci Center. The aim of the workshop is to develop a joint proposal for funding for a multi-year project around questions that emerged in the analysis and development of the present project and which found synergy with the work of other scholars. The consortium now consists of thirteen international scholars from different disciplines with different areas of expertise and a common interest in the question of how the DNA of autocratic leadership is reproduced over space and time. We address this by studying similarities and differences in sociopolitical traditions in regions historically linked with Europe. Using Russia, Hungary, and Turkey as core case studies, this project will examine: 1) Comparative attributes of autocratic leadership, and 2) The persistence and longevity of certain behavioral patterns related to autocracy, such as, factionalism and patron-client relations.
Dissemination:
2019
• Invited lecture, "The Disunity Default: Processes of Polarization in Turkey", Oslo University, Norway, May 7.
• Invited lecture, " The Disunity Default: Processes of Polarization in Turkey", Oslo University, Norway, May 7.
• Commenter, International Workshop, "Cold War Islamisms", Free University of Berlin, March 15-16
• Commenter, "The Steppe Tradition in International Relations", University of Oslo, January 24, Oslo, Norway.
2018
• Talk, Middle East Studies Association Annual Meeting, "A Cultural Logic of Turkish Political Life". San Antonio, TX, November
18.
• I could not attend the American Anthropological Association meetings in San Jose, California, because the dates overlapped
(11/14-18).
• Invited Speaker, “Turkey Today”, National Security Fellows Program, Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of
Government, Cambridge, MA. November 14.
• Invited Speaker, "The End of the Idea of Liberal Islamism?", Austrian Institute for International Affairs, Vienna, November 8.