De-Europeanisation and Equal Citizenship in Turkey: The Case of Circassians

ABSTRACT

The Europeanisation process in Turkey that extended roughly from 1999 to 2006 boosted the political and cultural rights of diverse ethnic groups in Turkey, including Circassians, and strengthened their claims for equal citizenship. With the loss or weakening of the EU as an anchor for democratic reform in the post-2007 period, however, the de-Europeanisation process has resulted in the disappearance of the main legal and institutional basis for the democratic integration of ethnocultural minorities. Nevertheless, analysis of the activities of four large Circassian communities in Turkey shows that the same process has enhanced the cultural reification of these groups as their survival strategy.

KEYWORDS:

• De-Europeanisation
• Turkey’s Circassians
• equal citizenship
• ethnocultural claims

Notes

¹ This study does not claim to generalize about all Circassians residing in Turkey or offer an all-encompassing picture of Circassians in Turkey. Our empirical analysis is limited to the activities of four Circassian associations.

² Named after the US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen, the Gülen movement, known in Turkey as Hizmet, or service, is a religious and social movement whose followers have allegedly occupied positions in the police and the judiciary. The movement runs schools around the world, including in Turkic former Soviet Republics, Muslim countries such as Pakistan and Western nations including Romania and the US.

³ The Circassian associations in Turkey claim the figure is around seven million.

⁴ Since diasporic identity is basically an urban phenomenon facilitated by modern transportation and communication, the federations and ethnocultural associations in İstanbul and Ankara are treated as the focus of the analysis.

⁵ Fictitious names have been used for all interviewees since they wished to remain anonymous.

⁶ All translations by the authors.

⁷ Çerkes Ethem was a Turkish militia leader of Circassian origin, who is referred to as a traitor in Turkish history books.

⁸ This law extended compulsory schooling by four years, making education compulsory for a full 12 years. Yet, in reality, it reduced compulsory public schooling since it allowed students to enter vocational schools – including Islamic imam hatip schools – after fifth grade rather than ninth grade. The original purpose of the imam schools (religious) was to provide manpower for Turkey’s mosques and religious establishment. However, the law turned “religious schools from a selective option to a central institution in the education system”. While entrance examinations were introduced for all high schools, the imam hatip schools were exempted from this rule and became an easy option for students who did not qualify for other schools. This controversial reform of education, it was argued, would boost religious education at the expense of secular schooling (Cengiz 2014).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Diğdem Soyaltın-Colella

Diğdem Soyaltın-Colella is Assistant Professor at Altinbaş University, Istanbul, Turkey.

Eylem Akdeniz Gӧker

Eylem Akdeniz Gӧker is Assistant Professor at Altinbaş University, Istanbul, Turkey. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @eylemakdeniz