From heroism to victimhood: Sèvres narrative and trauma of victimization in Turkey

When and how do collective traumas and victimhood narratives lead to exclusionary and antagonistic outcomes? Through the empirical examination of how the never-implemented Sèvres Treaty of 1920 has become a central trauma in Turkish political culture, this article demonstrates that when the collective traumas emerge as “trauma of victimization,” the outcome will likely be exclusionary and antagonistic. Trauma of victimization emerges when groups situate historical traumas and injustices at the center of their identity and their interpretation of contemporary events either in the role of “tragic victim” or “victimized hero.” The article examines how the Sevres Treaty first emerged as a symbolic national trauma in dichotomous relation to the triumph of the new nation-state and later transformed into the trauma of victimization when the media, political, and state actors connected the contemporary events to the Sèvres threat first in the role of tragic victim and later in the role of victimized hero. It proposes that the framework of “trauma of victimization” provides a more nuanced understanding of not only the Sèvres narrative but also the rise of historical victimhood narratives in right-wing populist and authoritarian movements and regimes.