Collective Identity During Societal Regression: Transformation from Self-Identification to Sub-Human Trait Associations

Year 2024, , 20 - 38, 30.06.2024

Gizem Oksuzoglu

https://doi.org/10.54186/arhuss.1425185

Abstract

In this study, collective identity is explored in relation to socio-political discourses within a historical context through the 13th regression element, which is an association of others with subhuman traits. Arguments are supported through longitudinal documentary analysis and secondary data from unstructured interviews. Discourse analysis was used to analyse data. This article presents several symbolisms relevant to emerging collective identity discourses and provides evidence of how socio-political changes throughout history can cause a change or confusion in collective identity. It also argues that societies with prolonged ethnic conflict, which are under the profound influence of a mainland, are very likely to have dual identities and dissimilar identifications among their group members. Through its analysis, this article develops Volkan’s Tree Model and suggests a phase IV in light of the existing dynamics in Cyprus. This study suggests the inclusion of all possible stages in co-existence, from dissociation to unification, in proposed phase IV.

Keywords

collective identity, ethnic conflict, societal regression, symbolism, Cyprus

Toplumsal Regresyon Sırasında Kolektif Kimlik: Kendini Tanımlamadan İnsan Dışı Özellik İlişkilendirmelerine Dönüşüm

Abstract

In this study, collective identity is explored in relation to socio-political discourses within a historical context through the 13th regression element, which is an association of others with subhuman traits. Arguments are supported through longitudinal documentary analysis and secondary data from unstructured interviews. Discourse analysis was used to analyse data. This article presents several symbolisms relevant to emerging collective identity discourses and provides evidence of how socio-political changes throughout history can cause a change or confusion in collective identity. It also argues that societies with prolonged ethnic conflict, which are under the profound influence of a mainland, are very likely to have dual identities and dissimilar identifications among their group members. Through its analysis, this article develops Volkan’s Tree Model and suggests a phase IV in light of the existing dynamics in Cyprus. This study suggests the inclusion of all possible stages in co-existence, from dissociation to unification, in proposed phase IV.

Keywords

kolektif kimlik, etnik çatışma, toplumsal regrasyon, sembolizm, Kıbrıs

References

• Bahçeli, T. (2004). Under Türkiye’s wings: the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the struggle for international acceptance. In T. Bahçeli, B. Bartmann and H. Srebrnik (Eds.), De Facto States: The Quest for Sovereignty. (pp.164-186). UK: Routledge.
• Balacchio, G. (2013). Only ten: Islands as uncomfortable fragmented polities. In G. Baldacchio (Ed.), The Political Economy of Divided Islands: Unified Geographies, Multiple Polities. (pp.1-17). UK: Palgrave Macmillan. Beckingham, C.F. (1957). Islam and Turkish nationalism in Cyprus. Die Welt des Islams 5(1/2), 65-83. http://doi.org/10.2307/1570254
• Brewer, M.B. (2001). The many faces of social identity: Implications for political psychology. Political Psychology, 22(1), 115-125.
• Christopher, J.A. (1988). ‘Divide and rule’: The impress of British separation policies. Area, 20(3), 233-240. Doob, L.W. (1986). Cypriot patriotism and nationalism. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 30(2), 383-396.
• Ersoy, Y. (1998). Kıbrıs Türk Tiyatro Hareketi: Toplumsal ve Siyasal Olaylarla İçiçe. Nicosia: Peyak Kültür Yayınları.
• Feyzioglu, M. (2023) Türkiye Cumhuriyeti’ndeki seçimler için KKTC’de oy verme işlemi başlıyor. https://brtk.net/feyziogluturkiyede-gerceklestirilecek-cumhurbaskanligi-ve-milletvekili-genel-secimleri-icin-kktcde-oy-verme-islemi-yarin-basliyor/
• Forrest, J.B. (2006). Nationalism in postcolonial states. In W.L. Barrington (Ed.), After Independence: Making and Protecting the Nation in Postcolonial and Post-Communist States. (pp.33-44). University of Michigan Press.
• Gibbons, H.S. (1997). The Genocide Files. United Kingdom: Charles Bravos.
• Güngör, Ç. (2002) Kıbrıslı Türk Gençleri Konuşuyor. Istanbul: Metis Yayınları.
• Gürkan, N. (2007, January 29). Federasyondan iki devletli çözüme. Kıbrıs Newspaper.
• Halas, E. (2010). Time and memory: A cultural perspective. TRAMES, 14(4), 307-322. http://doi.org/10.3176/tr.2010.4.02
• Hanson, E. (1933). Social regression in the Orinoco and Amazon basins: Notes on a journey in 1931and 1932. Geographical Review, 23(4), 578-598. https://doi.org/10.2307/209244
• Hatay, M. (2007). Is the Turkish Cypriot Population Shrinking? An overview of the ethno-demography of Cyprus in the light of the preliminary results of the 2006 Turkish-Cypriot census. Report no. 2/2007, PRIO Cyprus Centre, Cyprus, February 2007. https://www.prio.org/publications/7283.
• Hatay, M. and Bryant, R. (2008a). Migrant cities research: Nicosia North - Living Together Programme Report, British Council, Cyprus. May 2009. https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/migrant-cities-research-nicosia-north_en
• Hatay, M. and Bryant, R. (2008b). The Jasmine scent of Nicosia: Of returns, revolutions, and the longing for forbidden pasts. Journal of Modern Greek Studies 26, 423-449. 10.1080/10463283.2020.1711628
• Havadis Gazetesi (2023, January, 30). KTÖS: Öğrencilerin 40%’ı KKTC vatandaşı degil. Havadis Gazetesi. Retrieved from https://www.havadiskibris.com/ktos/#:~:text=Sendikan%C4%B1n%20Haziran%20ay%C4%B1nda%20yapt%C4%B1%C4%9F%C4%B1%20ara%C5%9Ft%C4%B1rman%C4%B1n,farkl%C4%B1%20%C3%BClkeden%20%C3%B6%C4%9Frenci%20bulundu%C4%9Funu%20belirtti.
• TRNC İstatistik Kurumu (2022). Nüfus ve demografi bülteni (1977-2021) Lefkosa, TRNC Institute of Statistics. Laakso, J. (2003). Colonisation by Turkish settlers of the occupied part of Cyprus. Report no. 9799, UK Parliamentary Assembly, London. 2 May. https://pace.coe.int/en/files/10153
• Lüle, Z. (2022, August 5). Kıbrıs’ın yasaklıları. T24. Retrieved from https://t24.com.tr/yazarlar/zeynel-lule/kibris-in-yasaklilari,36194?fbclid=IwAR0y4i6AFY4cWBsIJkWj6NMpvJpDlXLPovxIa1KMacVIFYMzv4lGwoXG1Uo
• Memmi, A. (1965). The Colonizer and the Colonised (4th ed.). USA: Routledge.
• Muldoon, O.T., Haslam, S.A., Haslam, C., Cruwys, T., Kearns, M. and Jetten, J. (2019). The social psychology of responses to trauma: social identity pathways associated with divergent traumatic responses. European Review of Social Psychology, 30(1), 311-348. http:/doi.org/10.1080/10463283.2020.1711628
• Nevzat, A. and Hatay, M. (2009). Politics, society and the decline of Islam in Cyprus: From the Ottoman Era to the Twenty-First Century. Middle Eastern Studies, 45(6), 911-933. http://doi.org/10.1080/0026320090326868
• Papadakis, Y. (2005). Echoes from the dead zone: Across the Cyprus divide. USA: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd.
• Pollis, A. (1973). Intergroup conflict and British colonial policy: The case of Cyprus. Comparative Politics, 5(4), 575-599. http://doi.org/10.2307/421397
• Ramm, C. (2006). Assessing transnational re-negotiation in the post-1974 Turkish Cypriots community: ‘Cyrus donkeys’, ‘black beards’ and the ‘EU carrot’, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies. 6(4), 523-542.
• Ramm, C. (2007). Construction of identity beyond recognised borders: the Turkish Cypriot Community between Cyprus, Turkey and the European Union. In the Oxford symposium Sypmosium was conducted at the Nationalism in a Trans-national Context European Studies Centre, South East European Studies at Oxford, UK. http://www.sant.ox.ac.uk/esc/esc-lectures/ramm.pdf
• Refikoğlu, M. (2022, August, 19). Refikoğlu: İnşaat, işçi ve taşeron da kaçak! Retrieved from https://haberkibris.com/refikoglu-insaat-isci-ve-taseron-da-kacak-1348-2022-08-14.html Tahsin, A.H. (1995). Kıbrıs: Türk- Yunan hesaplaşmasının rehinesi. Birikim, 77, 39-47.
• UK Parliament (2005). How many Turkish Cypriots remain in Cyprus. UK Parliamentary Report, London. Retrieved from https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmselect/cmfaff/113/113we33.htm
• Volkan, V.D. (1979). Cyprus – War and Adaptation: A psychoanalytic history of two ethnic groups in conflict. USA: The University Press of Virginia.
• Volkan, V.D. (2001). September 11 and societal regression. Mind and Human Interaction, 12, 196-216. http://doi.org/10.1177/05333160260620733
• Volkan, V.D. (2004). Blind trust: Large groups and their leaders in times of crisis and terror. USA: Pitchstone Publishing.
• Volkan, V.D. (2006a). Killing in the name of identity: A study of bloody conflicts. USA: Pitchstone Publishing.
• Volkan, V.D. (2006b.) Large-group psychodynamics and massive violence. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 11(2), pp. 303-314. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232006000200009
• Volkan, V.D. (2008). Trauma, identity and search for a solution in Cyprus. Insight Türkiye, 10(4), 95-110.
• Vural, Y. and Rüstemli, A. (2006). Identity fluctuations in the Turkish Cypriot community. Mediterranean Politics, 11(3), 329-348. https://doi.org/10.1080/13629390600913916
• YÖD (2022) KKTC Üniversiteleri 2021-2022 İstatistikleri. Report. Retrieved from http://yobis.mebnet.net/kategori/kktc-universiteleri-2021-2022-istatistikleri