| Summary/Abstract |
This article explores the dynamics of state-formation in Turkey during the AKP regime by questioning its claim of an almost two decades long continuity heading towards the centennial of the Republic of Turkey in 2023. Eclectically drawing on four different, yet related, theories of conflict, power and (visual) narrative; i.e. Gramscian ‘war of position,’ Contentious Politics perspective of (de)democratization, dialogical principle and visuality, the article presents a comparison of the claim-making of the two official publications; now defunct the Silent Revolution, and Towering Power Turkey, published in 2013 and 2018, respectively, to demonstrate the contrast between the pre-hegemonic and hegemonic self-presentation claims of the AKP regime, and indicates that its regime change is the re-entrenchment of many of the postulates of the Kemalist regime it originally aspired to challenge. The tenets of this analysis is located within the intersection of political sociology and cultural studies.
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