The rise of a civilisational state: neo-Ottoman and Islamist civilisational discourse in Turkey
This article builds on the framework of the civilisational state and illustrates civilisational discourse through the example of Turkey. This research explores how Turkish political leaders define the nature, orientation, and goals of the Turkish political-ideological system they have built over the...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2026
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| In: |
Religion, state & society
Year: 2026, Volume: 54, Issue: 1, Pages: 22-43 |
| Further subjects: | B
Foreign Policy
B Discourse B Turkey B AKP B Civilisation |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article builds on the framework of the civilisational state and illustrates civilisational discourse through the example of Turkey. This research explores how Turkish political leaders define the nature, orientation, and goals of the Turkish political-ideological system they have built over the years and how the Turkish government has thematised the issue of Islamic civilisation and the Ottoman Empire in its political agenda. After coming to power in 2002, the AKP leadership followed western and European development models. However, Turkish public opinion slowly lost faith in the European Union, and the political leadership has exploited this shift. Neo-Ottoman civilisational discourse fitted in well with Turkey’s opening to the Middle East and the Balkans in the mid-2000s. By the 2010s, confrontational civilisational discourse – based on a critique and rejection of ‘western values’ – was no longer used solely to explain domestic political developments, but also began to serve as an explanation for the rapid regional changes around Turkey. The Islamist roots of the ruling party allowed the anti-western narrative of the Turkish Islamist tradition to gain strength, dominate public discourse, and become an important element of polarisation. |
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| ISSN: | 1465-3974 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion, state & society
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/09637494.2025.2530907 |
