Conclusion

In the concluding part, I wrap up the discussion of this book and argue that, due to the Neo-Ottomanist symbolic politics, ‘Turks remembered the Ottomans again’. The emphasis on Islam as a major constituent of Turkish national identity has arisen as ‘the return of the repressed’ through the Neo-Ottomanist narrative. I argue that one of the reasons for the endurance of the AKP and its politics of emotions centred around this narrative, is its undeniable appeal to the emotional needs of some segments of society. Nevertheless, I argue that, given the current conditions of the country, this way of conducting politics for the AKP is no longer sustainable, and that the country is experiencing an identity crisis under Erdoğan’s autocratic regime.