ICircassia Digital Capitalism and New Transnational Identities

Abstract

The significantly increased production of Circassian content on the Internet could be labelled as a form of virtual re-territorialisation of Circassia – especially considering the strong focus on identity and history. I apply the label ‘iCircassia’ as an addition to the classical understanding of the Circassian World as consisting of Circassians of the homeland and the diaspora. I suggest to apply the term ‘digital capitalism’ as an update of the terms ‘print capitalism’ and ‘electronic capitalism’ used by Benedict Anderson and Arjun Appadurai, respectively, to assign earlier periods of mediated mobilisation among nationalities – with or without a nation-state. In the case of the Circassians this is not just exemplified by the many different Circassian websites but also by the Circassian’ use of social media such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter (Web 2. 0) – transnational and (partly) interactive by definition. A concrete empowerment of Circassian actors through the Internet is taking place. This illustrated how the development of ‘digital capitalism’ has both quantitatively and qualitatively new implications for a dispersed people such as the Circassians compared to earlier periods. 

Keywords

• ‘Digital Capitalism’, Internet, ‘Transnational Identity-building’, Globalisation, Empowerment

ICircassia Digital Capitalism and New Transnational Identities [E-Çerkesya: Dijital Kapitalizm ve Yeni Ulusaşırı Kimlikler]

Abstract

    Başta ulusal kimlik ve tarih konularına odaklananlar olmak üzere, internette sayısı giderek artan Çerkeslerle ilgili materyaller, bir anlamda siber alemde Çerkesya’nın sınırlarının yeniden çizilmesi olarak da değerlendirilebilir. Bu makalede ‘e-Çerkesya’ (‘iCircassia’) terimini, genel olarak anavatan ve diasporadan oluştuğu kabul edilen klasik Çerkes Dünyası kavramına ek olarak kullanıyorum. ‘Dijital Kapitalizm’ kavramının, erken dönem milliyetlerde (ulus devleti olsun ya da olmasın) yaşanan mobilizasyonları tanımlamak için Benedict Anderson tarafından üretilen ‘matbaa kapitalizmi’ ve Arjun Appadurai tarafından üretilen ‘elektronik kapitalizm’ kavramlarının bir güncellemesi olarak kullanılmasını öneriyorum. Çerkesler özelinde bu durum sadece değişik Çerkes internet sitelerinin varlığıyla değil aynı zamanda Youtube, Facebook ve Twitter gibi tanımları gereği ulusaşırı ve bir ölçüde interaktif olan sosyal medya araçlarının Çerkesler tarafından kullanımıyla da örneklendirilebilir. Çerkes dünyasının aktörleri, internet aracılığıyla giderek güçlenmekteler. Bu durum, ‘dijital kapitalizm’in gelişiminin geçmiş dönemleriyle karşılaştırıldığında Çerkesler gibi dağınık yaşayan halklar için hem nicelik hem de nitelik olarak çok ciddi etkileri olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır.

Keywords

• ‘Digital Capitalism’,Internet,‘Transnational Identity-building’,Globalisation,Empowerment

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