Identity, Nationalism and the Response of Turkey to COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This paper will scrutinize the response of Turkey to COVID-19 pandemic from an ontological security perspective to demonstrate how critical junctures may serve to the identity needs of its political elites. Highlighting the role of pandemic in the construction of political narratives, it aims to shed light on the potential implications of the crisis in shaping domestic power struggles as well as Turkish foreign policy choices. The analysis revealed that both ruling and opposition parties in Turkey are instrumentalizing nationalist narratives with an emphasis on protection and self-reliance, and are engaged in political opportunism during the outbreak. It also demonstrated how the pandemic facilitated the restoration of Turkey’s ontological security in international arena while fostering nationalism and securing the “savior and protector” identity of its ruling elites. Nevertheless, the paper concludes that post-pandemic Turkish politics will be shaped by growing tension between religious and secular understandings of nationalism as well as frictions with allies and neighbors over the disputes in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Thus, it can be suggested that enhanced ontological security of the country could be short lived.