Neither Nationalism nor Neo-Ottomanism but the Winner Is Neo-Liberal Consumerism? Arts of the Past

Abstract

In Turkish cultural history, there is an uninterrupted continuity in the education of the Traditional Turkish Arts (TTA), with clear links to the Ottoman past and Islam. This article discusses how TTA were preserved and incorporated into the educational curriculum in the early Republican era, despite discourses that established a direct disengagement between the Republican nationalist project and the Ottoman past. Turning then to the dissemination of TTA under the AKP's rule as a reflection of neo-Ottomanism as a multi-faceted strategy, this article reveals their overlap with neo-liberal policies that bring about their commodification.