Imputing Diaspora: An Examination of Turkish Political Rhetoric in Germany

Abstract:In this article, I examine two different frames of diasporic identity found within the rhetoric of Turkish politicians when they address audiences in Germany. I analyze speeches given in 2011 by the then Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and leader of the opposition, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, during the fiftieth anniversary celebrations of Turkish labor migration to Germany. I argue that both wove narratives of identity that emphasized the continuing relevance of Turkey to the lives of expatriate Turks as well as their continued inclusion in Turkish society. I suggest that these were deliberate attempts to construct or maintain imagined communities of diasporic Turks as part of broader political projects. Such transnational reinterpretations of "domestic" issues constitute an understudied dimension of diasporic engagement and diasporic identity formation.