Affect, the State, and Political Subjectivity among the Nur Community in Turkey

Abstract

ABSTRACT Employing data drawn from ethnographic research and dwelling on Silvan Tomkins’ psychology of knowledge, this article analyzes the process through which affect and cognition coassemble (Tomkins’ words) to shape the Islamic political subjectivity of members of the Nur community in Turkey. The article argues that, through Nur students’ specific understanding of their own community and of the nation state as “collective personalities,” the feelings of love, companionship, sincerity, and unity circulating in community meetings are transplanted into the political arena. This affectively built notion of the national body enables acceptance of Turkish secular institutions and participation in politics. While recognizing the non-linguistic and non-cognitive dimensions of affect, the article emphasizes the connection, rather than disconnection, between affect, thought, and action in the religious field and claims that political theology plays a key role in binding together these three elements.