On the construction of identities: An autoethnography from Turkey
| Published date | 01 September 2020 |
| Date | 01 September 2020 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0192512119858369 |
| Author | Funda Gençoğlu |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0192512119858369
International Political Science Review
2020, Vol. 41(4) 600 –612
© The Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/0192512119858369
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On the construction of identities:
An autoethnography from Turkey
Funda Gençoğlu
Baskent University, Turkey
Abstract
In this article I analyze, on the basis of my personal experience, the discontents of contemporary Turkish
politics; more specifically, neoliberal conservative hegemony, and its three manifestations: stability of
instability; a religio-conservative gender regime; and anti-intellectualism. I illustrate how these manifestations
are intertwined in the process of identity construction: how an individual’s identity as a citizen, as a woman,
as an academic is being constantly constructed/de-constructed/reconstructed in a manner integral to the
social and political context. The contribution of this article is threefold: it shows how personal experiences
are a legitimate source of knowledge; it enables an understanding of how political identities are in a constant
state of making; it challenges dominant conceptions of politics and the political through challenging binaries
such as individual/social, personal/political, and emotional/rational.
Keywords
Autoethnography, hegemony, neoliberal conservatism, anti-intellectualism, gender climate, political
identities
Introduction
This article deals with a highly popular topic by resorting to a less popular method: it portrays cur-
rent socio-political life in Turkey through the author’s personal experience. The immediate reason
for this choice is the tension resulting from two countertrends in the way I experience the world
around me. On the one hand, it is highly thought-provoking for an academic in political science to
witness how, amidst all the discussion of the legitimacy of the incumbent government, its authori-
tarian tendencies, questions about the safety and fairness of elections, and speculation regarding
the coming of a destructive economic crisis, the current hegemony in Turkey has been finding new
and alternative ways of re-installing itself. On the other hand, there is the alienation I have been
experiencing in the most important part of my profession, which is producing and communicating
political analysis.
Corresponding author:
Funda Gençoğlu, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Baskent University, Baglica Kampusu
Eskisehir Yolu 18. Km, Ankara, Turkey.
Email: fundao@baskent.edu.tr
858369IPS0010.1177/0192512119858369International Political Science ReviewGençoğlu
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