Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 October 2019
This article discusses the recent politics of space in Turkey during the rule of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) through a focus on the capital city of Ankara. In order to analyze the recent politics of space in Turkey, the article elaborates upon the recent politics of toponym changes and the discourse over space and place in the Turkish capital. Particular attention is paid to the spatialization of neo-Ottoman, Islamist, and populist discourses and to the production of various representational and counter-representational spaces. One of the key foci of the article is its elaboration on the new Presidential Complex (Cumhurbaşkanlığı Külliyesi) as a case that, in its representational and conceptual aspects, reflects the spatialization of Islamist and populist discourses and symbolizes the recent transformations of social space and the emergent sociospatial order in Turkey.
Author’s Note: This article is based on my doctoral dissertation, completed under the supervision of Prof. Tayfun Çınar in 2017 at the Graduate School of Social Sciences of Ankara University. However, substantial revisions have been made and additional comments added to support the main arguments. I would like to express my appreciation to Michelle Yeoman, Amber Murrey, Biray Kolluoğlu, and three anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments, criticism, and support. Please also note that this study received no specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.