“DEFENDING THE OPPRESSED” OR TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY IDENTITY IN THE DISCOURSE OF THE NEW WELFARE PARTY

Abstract

This article analyzes the foreign policy identity of the Republic of Turkey as expressed by the New Welfare Party (NWP). Using critical discourse analysis methods within the constructivist theory of international relations, several key discourse points were identified that shape the core components of Turkish identity within the rhetoric of this political party’s leaders. An examination of the NWP’s political platform, as well as the speeches of its leader, Fatih Erbakan, reveals that the key narratives within Turkey’s identity discourse are Islamist and anti-colonialist. By combining rhetoric about religious unity, its importance in the modern world, and the need to fight Western oppressors, Erbakan Jr.’s party creates a semantic framework for its foreign policy, which is based on inevitable integration with Muslim and developing countries. The goal of such integration is to strengthen the position of these countries and strive for a “just world”. At the same time, the perception of relations with Western states, despite accusations of oppression, can be assessed as pragmatic. The Chairman of the National Party of Turkey, speaking on this topic, notes that relations with the West will be built solely on the basis of Turkish national interests. These judgments allow us to characterize the entire discourse of Erbakan Jr.’s political organization as combining Islamistanti-colonialist and national narratives