Call for Papers for a Preorganized Panel at Davo Conference,
6-7 October 2016, Tübingen

Ritual and Politics in Turkey
Organized by Charlotte Joppien (charlottejoppien@hotmail.com)

Academia still predominantly perceives politics from a ‘rational basis’ assuming citizens and voters to be let by ‘cost-benefit’ analysis. Alternative explanatory approaches focus on the tension between religious and secular political groupings, or authoritarian politics. Instead, this panel seeks to focus on the ritual aspects of political action.
Although often associated with ‘primitive societies’ or divine service ritual is an important part of modern political life as it asserts leaders rule, demonstrates authority, strengthens political alliances, creates national feelings and anchors political ‘reality’ in the public’s perception. Ritual is employed to confirm or contest public authority, and to create community and solidarity (if we assume that acting, not necessarily thinking alike is vital). With regard to Turkey, this panel seeks to address the following questions:
How is the state symbolized and/or personified thus made visible? How do leaders become (or claim to be as Louis XIV’s dictum ”L’ Etat, c’est moi” famously did) a symbol of the nation? How does ritual add to the ‘sacralization of power’? How do rituals establish hierarchy and a particular view of the political order? Which rituals (parades, public holidays, religiously influenced, festivals, protocol, flag service, mourning etc) can be observed? Can the meaning of rituals and symbols be changed and if yes, how? Is there a relation between a high social divisiveness and a greater ‘need’ for ritual to hold society together? How does ritual relate to identity (politics)? How does ritual help to create an ‘Everyday World of Politics’ (Edelman, 1988)? What is the relation between ritual and public memory?
Please send an abstract of 300 words plus bibliography and a short CV to charlottejoppien@hotmail.com. The panel will be held in English.