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ABSTRACT
This article employs interviews and primary and secondary sources to examine the discrimination, securitization, and instrumentalization faced by four main Christian denominations throughout Turkish history: the Armenian, Greek, Assyrian, and Protestant communities. We shed light on how some religious minority groups have been utilized and represented within the framework of Turkish diplomacy and the pursuit of neo-Ottomanism. We contend that the blanket term ‘Christian’ is less applicable in Turkey's context, where religion becomes intricately intertwined with ethnicity. Thus, it becomes imperative to investigate each non-Muslim community independently, considering their unique trajectories, historical traumas, internal divisions, and relationships with the state.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Esen and Gumuscu, “Rising,” and Öztürk, “An Alternative Reading.”
2 Kılınç, “Christians.”
3 Reeves and Akyol, “Erdogan Should Not”; Görlach, “Christians”; and Gilbert, “Turkey's Christians.”
4 Ghanea, “Human Rights,” and Beylunioğlu Atlı, “Freedom of Religion.”
5 Sandal, “Public Theologies”; Ibrahim, The Copts of Egypt; and Rabah, Conflict on Mount Lebanon.
6 Öztürk, Religion, Identity and Power.
7 Anderson, Imagined Communities; Smith, Nationalism and Modernism; Young, The Rising Tide.
8 Belge and Karakoc, “Minorities,” 290.
9 Aktürk, “Nationalism and Religion,” 12.
10 Kılınç, “Christians.”
11 Türkmen and Öktem, “Foreign Policy.”
12 Buzan, Wæver, and de Wilde, Security.
13 Waever, “The Changing Agenda,” and Howe, “Discourses of Exclusion.”
14 Fox and Akbaba, “Securitization of Islam”; Olesker, “National Identity”; and Kam and Clarke, “Securitization, Surveillance.”
15 Bieber, The Instrumentalization, and Wodak, “Anything goes!.”
16 Wæver, Securitization, 68.
17 Balzacq, “The Three Faces,” and Williams, “Words, Images, Enemies.”
18 Buzan et al, Security, 119, and Buzan and Waever, “Slippery?”
19 Jutila, “Desecuritizing Minority Rights,” 180.
20 Yilmaz and Barry, “The AKP’s De-securitization.”
21 Lewis, The Emergence, 15.
22 Al, “An Anatomy.”
23 Aktürk, “One Nation.”
24 In this article, when we use “Turkish” to describe people, we use it as a shorthand for Turkish citizen, and not to describe an ethnic and religious identity. In the Turkish language, this differentiation is clear between “Türk” (ethnic Turkish) and “Türkiyeli” (belonging to Turkey; citizenship of Turkey) but in English, Turkish is used both for citizenship and ethnic identity. In this context, a “Turkish Armenian” means that the person is a citizen of Turkey and also a part of the Armenian community in Turkey.
25 Interview conducted in 2021.
26 Masters, Christians and Jews.
27 Kadıoğlu, “Denationalization,” 291.
28 Interview with Molinas, 2021
29 Interview conducted in 2021.
30 Goalwin, “Understanding the Exclusionary Politics.”
31 Aktoprak, Bir ‘Kurucu Öteki’ Olarak.
32 Zarakol, “Ontological (In)security,” 19.
33 Nefes, “Pereceived group threats.”
34 Interview conducted in 2021.
35 İçduygu et al, “The Politics of Population,” 378.
36 Ter-Matevosyan, “The Armenian Community,” and Kılınç, “Democratic Consolidation.”
37 White, Muslim Nationalism, 9.
38 Interview conducted with Degirmencioglu in 2021.
39 Sheklian, “Promises of Property.”
40 Interview conducted in 2021.
41 Sandal, “Religious Populist Parties.”
42 Grigoriadis, “Türk or Türkiyeli?”, 427.
43 Interview conducted in 2021.
44 Interview conducted in 2021.
45 Sandal, “Public Theologies,” 641.
46 Interview conducted in 2021.
47 Aktar, Varlik Vergisi.
48 Erdemir and Maenza, “Turkey Needs to Change.”
49 Interview conducted in 2021.
50 Interview conducted in 2021.
51 Iğsız, “Humanism in Ruins”.
52 Radikal, “Vecdi Gönül.”
53 Benlisoy, “6/7 Eylül Olayları.”
54 Güven, Cumhuriyet Dönemi.
55 CBSNews, “Patriarch Bartholomew.”
56 Interview conducted in 2021.
57 Yılmaz, “Rum Yetimhanesi.”
58 Agos, “Er Sevag,” and Estukyan, “Hazzopulo.”
59 Dağlıoğlu, “12 Eylül’le Birlikte.”
60 Milliyet, “Diplomatlar Şoke Oldu,”
61 Akçam, “Textbooks.”
62 Diken, “Bana Gürcü.”
63 Agos, “Sanasaryan Han.”
64 Erdem, “Dağlık Karabağ'daki Savaş.”
65 Tchilingirian, “The ‘Other’ Citizens.”
66 Cogan, “Election of Patriarch.”
67 Interview conducted in 2021.
68 Interview conducted in 2021.
69 Interview conducted in 2021.
70 Interview conducted in 2021.
71 Interview with Sofooglu in 2021.
72 Malkoç, “Türkiye’de Protestanlik,” 50.
73 Kilicdagi, “Misyonerlik ve Hıristofobi.”
74 Aktoprak, Bir ‘Kurucu öteki’ olarak.
75 Interview conducted in 2021.
76 Sandal, “Public Theologies,” 641.
77 Interview conducted in 2021.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Nukhet Ahu Sandal
Nukhet A. Sandal is a Professor of Political Science at Ohio University. In addition to multiple articles and book chapters, she is the author of Religious Leaders and Conflict Transformation (Cambridge University Press, 2017), co-author of Religion in International Relations Theory (Routledge, 2013), and co-editor of Religion and Peace: Global Perspectives and Possibilities (Ohio University Press, 2022). Sandal is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies.
Ahmet Erdi Ozturk
Ahmet Erdi Ozturk is an Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations at London Metropolitan University. He is the author of more than 40 journal articles as well as 6 books and numerous policy papers. He is the winner of London Metropolitan University’s (2020), Coventry University’s (2021), ISA ENMISA section’s (2022) and ISA REL section’s (2023) Emerging Scholar Awards. Ozturk also co-editor of Edinburgh University Press’ Series on Modern Turkey and associate editor of South East Europe and Black Sea Studies.