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Conceptualizations and perceptions of Turkish citizenship

Citizenship
Democratisation
Globalisation
Political Parties
Bengi R. Cengiz
Stockholm University
Bengi R. Cengiz
Stockholm University

Abstract

Citizenship studies have shifted its focus from the legal status to rights and their actual practice. Given the long-lasting effects of globalization and immigration, citizenship can no longer be limited to belonging to a national community. Rather, citizenship has evolved into an arena in which boundaries and practices of it have been continuously contested. These struggles are most visible in terms of the changes within the legal structures, including but not limited to the regulations of naturalization and citizenship acquisition. In addition, citizenship rights have moved beyond the Marshallian framework and have acquired a “postnational” character, setting free from the nation state. Although there are various instance of this shift most visible in the legal structures, actual perceptions of citizens of their status and rights have not been adequately studied. As a democratizing country, Turkey is not immune from these trends, while facing with various challenges towards its citizenship regime. Many studies have explored these challenges within the Turkish context, most of which are related with identity claims and minority rights, and political responses to them, or lack thereof. Yet, citizens’ own perceptions of Turkish citizenship and corresponding rights and duties have remained unclear to a certain extent. This paper will start by discussing the official conceptualization of Turkish citizenship, to which members have been socialized in. Then, it will investigate the actual perceptions of Turkish citizens regarding their rights and duties through utilizing survey methodology on a sample in Istanbul. These perceptions will be analyzed on the basis of political party orientations to capture the variance in the perceptions and their potential correspondence with the political landscape. In the end, the paper will demonstrate the effects of the changing nature and structure of citizenship on Turkish citizenship regime through analyzing perceptions.