Politics of Memory in Türkiye through Historical Serials
Makaleler > Tam Makale · 2026
Yazarlar: Gökçen BAŞARAN İNCE
International Journal of Middle East Culture and Communication, ESCI İndekslerine Giren Dergi, Uluslararası, Scopus, 2026, cilt 18, ss 249-276
DOI: 10.1163/18739865-bja10002
Özet
Abstract This study assesses the memory politics of the Justice and Development Party ( JDP ) by examining historical television serials. The article commences by elucidating the theoretical concepts of ‘memory politics’ and ‘fractured memory regimes’. It then demonstrates the rise of historical serials and the official support they receive from the JDP . Lastly, it focuses on the latest primary production by the state channel, Mehmet: The Sultan of Conquests . The findings suggest that Islam and Turkishness ( Töre as a moral system) are employed as sources of ethos and part of restorative nostalgia that centers on neo-Ottomanism, accompanied by ethnocentrism and Occidentalism. Contemporary political affairs, such as the ongoing conflict with the Gülen community, also exert influence on the plot, thereby demonstrating that the politics of memory are inextricably linked to the present.