Violent infrastructure, nationalist stigmatisation and spatial erasure
| Published date | 01 February 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/02633957221148070 |
| Author | Somdeep Sen |
| Date | 01 February 2024 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/02633957221148070
Politics
2024, Vol. 44(1) 102 –118
© The Author(s) 2023
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/02633957221148070
journals.sagepub.com/home/pol
Violent infrastructure,
nationalist stigmatisation and
spatial erasure
Somdeep Sen
Roskilde University, Denmark
Abstract
This article studies the violent politics of stigmatisation and erasure of nationalist urban
infrastructure. In general, urban infrastructure is a mechanism of state power. But, through the
case of the imposing presence of Turkish nationalist infrastructure in the Kurdish city Diyarbakir,
it demonstrates that when tied to an antagonistic nationalist political project, this infrastructure
is often purposefully built to violently cleanse urban spaces of the national “other”. Be it a statue,
a mural or a picture of a nationalist leader – this infrastructure is incapable of inflicting physical
pain. Nonetheless, its violence is symbolic and meant to have a real effect on Diyarbakir’s Kurds’
ability and willingness to identify as Kurds. That said, violence does not entirely inform the spatial
experience of those targeted by this nationalist infrastructure. The article demonstrates that
Kurdish residents also found ways of remaining unaffected, even treating the infrastructure laden
with Turkish nationalist iconography as a reminder of their own Kurdish identity. This article
thus expands our understanding of what nationalist infrastructure does. It may be designed to
be violent. However, it also reveals itself to be a site of contestation – equally inspiring the
persistence of the counter-narrative of the national “other”.
Keywords
erasure, infrastructure, violence, nationalism, Turkey, Kurdistan
Received: 21st April 2022; Revised version received: 24th October 2022; Accepted: 14th November 2022
Infrastructure is rarely apolitical. This was evident to me in December 2010 when I took
a tour of Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of the founder of the Republic of Turkey (or Türkiye),
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Ahmet,1 a 45-year-old employee of the Turkish Radio and
Television Corporation (TRT) and former ESL2 student of mine, joined me on the tour.
Corresponding author:
Somdeep Sen, Department of Social Sciences and Business, Roskilde University, Universitetsvej 1, Roskilde
4000, Denmark.
Emails: somdeeps@gmail.com; sens@ruc.dk
1148070POL0010.1177/02633957221148070PoliticsSen
research-article2023
Article
Sen 103
We met outside the mausoleum compound and walked up a winding path that led us to the
top of Rasattepe (Observation Hill). We then went up a flight of stairs, walked through the
Street of Lions lined with 24 stone sculptures of Hittite Lions and arrived at the ceremo-
nial plaza in front of the mausoleum. On top of the hill, we had a 360 degree view of the
capital city (Figure 1). And, as we stood in the shadow of Anıtkabir, I was struck by the
sheer grandeur and the towering physicality of the mausoleum. With the words of Atatürk,
Ne mutlu Türküm diyene [How happy is the one who says I am Turkish], written on its
walls, and guarded by the Turkish armed forces, Anıtkabir is a celebration of Turkish
nationhood as imagined and embodied by Ataturk, the father of the republic (Figure 2).
But while I was taken by the opulence and grandeur of the mausoleum, Ahmet seemed
unimpressed. During the tour he remained uncharacteristically quiet, only nodding
slightly on occasions. And, as soon as we exited Anıtkabir, he, almost impatiently, said to
me, ‘You know, I am Kurdish’. Having known him for a year, I was surprised by this
revelation. So, I asked, ‘Why haven’t you ever mentioned this to me?’ He replied:
To be honest, I don’t talk about it. Not even to my colleagues. I have worked in TRT for fifteen
years and only two people know. Everyone there is a nationalist. Just like here [referring to
Anıtkabir] there are pictures of Atatürk, his quotes, big Turkish flags everywhere and they don’t
like Kurds. For them there are no Kurds. In my daughter’s school they are made to say Ne mutlu
Türküm diyene in the morning. So, no one there knows that she is Kurdish. She has a Turkish
name in school. At home she has a Kurdish name. In school she speaks Turkish. At home we
speak Kurdish.
Figure 1. A view from Anıtkabir (Photo by author).
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