Beyond Turkey’s Borders: Long-Distance Kemalism, State Politics and the Turkish Diaspora

In an increasingly globalized world, the engagement of diasporic communities in trans-nationalism has become a potent force. Here, Banu Senay argues that expanding channels of communication have provided the Turkish state with more scope to mobilize its nationals abroad around official Kemalist ideology - in this case, in Australia. It is through the prism of 'long-distance Kemalism' that this book explores ideas of nationalism identity politics and cross-border mobilization. While the Turkish state injects its presence into everyday life - through its consular institutions and its management of Islam - it is the work of activists that gives efficacy to the 'long arm of Kemalism'. However, the Australian multicultural context challenges this by giving a platform to groups, such as Kurds or Armenians, whose identity politics clash with that of Turkish officialdom. This book provides important new material for researchers of international politics, nationalism and migration.