SCHOOLING THE ‘DESIRED CITIZEN’: ANALYSING THE KEMALIST PROJECT OF SUBJECT FORMATION IN EARLY REPUBLICAN TURKEY THROUGH A FOUCAULDIAN LENS

Abstract

The establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 marked a departure from the Ottoman imperial order and initiated an ambitious project of nation-building. Under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the new regime sought to redefine the foundations of political authority by moving away from the Ottoman-Islamic past and its institutions towards reshaping the relationship between religion, society, and politics. It necessitated the formation of a new identity of the ‘social’ and the ‘citizenry,’ aligning with the ideals of the new Republic. The existing scholarship has largely interpreted Kemalist reforms through the lenses of secularization, modernization, and authoritarian state-building. However, this article adopts a Foucauldian approach to examine how the Kemalist state reforms represent a ‘governmentality’ project aimed at producing the ‘desired’ citizens for the modern world. Therefore, this article analyzes how state-led initiatives in schooling, language reform, dress, religious administration, and public rituals promoted specific ways of thinking, behaving, and belonging. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concept of governmentality, this study focuses on the everyday practices of governance, moving beyond normative judgements of Kemalism. To this end, this study follows a historical and qualitative analysis based on primary resources such as legislative documents, memoirs, and newspaper archives, as well as secondary literature.

Keywords

• Governmentality
• Nation-building
• Reforms
• Republic
• Turkey

"Arzulanan Vatandaşı" Eğitmek: Erken Cumhuriyet Türkiye'sinde Kemalist Özbebiçim Projesinin Foucauldian Bir Bakış Açısıyla Analizi

Abstract

1923 yılında Türkiye Cumhuriyeti’nin ilanı, sadece bir yönetim biçimi değişikliği değil, aynı zamanda Osmanlı’nın imparatorluk mirasından radikal bir kopuşu ve kapsamlı bir ulus-devlet inşa projesini temsil eder. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk önderliğindeki yeni yönetim; meşruiyetini Osmanlı-İslam geleneğinden alan eski kurumları tasfiye ederek din, toplum ve siyaset üçgenindeki ilişkileri modern bir zeminde yeniden kurgulamayı hedeflemiştir. Bu dönüşümün merkezinde, Cumhuriyet’in modernleşme idealleriyle tam uyumlu, yeni bir "toplumsal kimlik" ve "ideal vatandaş" tipolojisinin yaratılması zorunluluğu yer almaktadır. Akademik literatürde Kemalist reformlar genellikle sekülerleşme, batılılaşma ve devlet merkezli modernleşme ekseninde değerlendirilir. Ancak bu çalışma, mevcut yaklaşımlardan farklı olarak, söz konusu reformlara Michel Foucault’nun "yönetimsellik" kavramı üzerinden yaklaşmaktadır. Bu perspektif, reformları sadece yukarıdan aşağıya dayatılan siyasi kararlar olarak değil, modern dünyaya entegre olacak "makbul" bireyler yetiştirmeyi amaçlayan bütüncül bir disiplin projesi olarak görür. Makale; eğitim sisteminden dil devrimine, kılık-kıyafet düzenlemelerinden kamusal ritüellere ve dini kurumların idaresine kadar uzanan geniş bir aralık analiz etmektedir. Bu devlet projelerinin, bireylerin düşünce yapısını, davranış kalıplarını ve aidiyet duygularını nasıl şekillendirdiği üzerinde durulmaktadır. Normatif yargılardan kaçınan bu nitel araştırma; arşiv belgeleri, dönemin gazeteleri ve anılara dayanarak, yönetimin gündelik hayatın kılcal damarlarına nasıl nüfuz ettiğini tarihsel bir yöntemle ortaya koymaktadır.

Keywords

• Yönetim biçimi
• Ulus inşası
• Reformlar
• Cumhuriyet
• Türkiye

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