Abstract

This article explores Turkey’s recent increased interest in the Antarctic by deconstructing how this interest contributes to the making of Antarctic nationalism(s). It makes two arguments. First, Turkey’s status-seeking by being present in the Antarctic contributes to Antarctic nationalism(s) by invoking three distinct yet overlapping strands of nationalisms – banal, pragmatic-techno and Kemalist nationalisms, or what we term assemblage nationalism. Second, we argue that it was this nationalist trope that became the mutual language between Turkey’s ruling elite and scientists, and one of the factors that prompted a change of strategy in Turkey’s Antarctic policy. Turkey’s status-seeking combined with this nationalist trope, which highlighted compatibility with the former’s broader discourse on technological upgrading and economic development, helped the Turkish ruling elite and scientists frame and make sense of the country’s presence in Antarctica. We conclude that when status-seeking involves collaboration with foreigners, a ‘more benign’ form of nationalism becomes possible.

摘要

本文通过解构这种兴趣如何促进南极民族主义的形成，探讨了土耳其最近对南极日益增长的兴趣。它提出了两个论点。首先，土耳其在南极寻求地位，通过援引三种截然不同但重叠的民族主义——平庸的、务实的技术和凯末尔民族主义，或我们所说的组合民族主义，对南极民族主义做出了贡献。. 其次，我们认为正是这种民族主义的比喻成为土耳其统治精英和科学家之间的共同语言，也是促使土耳其改变南极政策战略的因素之一。土耳其的地位寻求与这种民族主义比喻相结合，突出了与前者关于技术升级和经济发展的更广泛论述的兼容性，帮助土耳其统治精英和科学家构建并理解了该国在南极洲的存在。我们的结论是，当寻求地位涉及与外国人合作时，一种“更温和”的民族主义形式成为可能。