Turkey’s soldier’s matrix: fighting against internal threats and external enemies

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper examines the role of government-controlled media in provoking the current wave of religious/nationalism in Turkey. We use Friedman’s concept of the Soldier’s Matrix and Volkan’s large group identity as analytical lenses to explain how Turkey’s society is propped up in a constant state of fear driven by an imagined existential threat and promised glory. We argue that the Erdoğan administration fuels polarization instrumentalizes the Sevres trauma and promised glory of the Ottoman Empire. In turn, these imagined fears and promises rationalize populist domestic and foreign policies. Through the example of entertainment television content drawn from Payitaht: Abdülhamid, this paper exemplifies how media facilitates the activation of Turkey’s soldier’s matrix.