REALITY OF MULTICULTURALISM IN TURKEY AND WESTERN SOCIETY

Abstract

As far as nation-state organization which is the main component of modernization, humanity hosted to the coexistence of different cultures. However, by the modernization, composing a dominant culture in the social structure and the tradition that asserts melting other different cultures into this dominant culture was transforming to the evolutionary process of unicultural view. This situation led to the problematique regarding cultures’ existence and sustainability in homogeneous society. Nation states created by modernization draw our attention by having some values such as democracy, secularism, equality and freedom, as well as canonizing these value. While these values keeping alive in the nation states, multi-culturism and the other concepts generated by powerful states harms the concept of “nation” which is the integrative component of modern state structures. Therefore, it is getting hard to create a strong synergy and common belongingness among citizens. As a post-modernistic reaction, multi-culturism, indicates the desire of coexistence of different religious, ethnic and linguistic structures. Different cultures were living their identical, linguistic and religious existence only in the private space. However, after post-modernism, they can realize themselves in the public space too. In Turkey, the multiculturalism is an Ottoman heritage. After collapse of Ottoman Empire, the successor modern republic identicated himself as “Turk”. This identification resulted in the problem of sub-identities’ alienation. However, since 1990’s, academic debates and the reforms of EU participation process have showed a potential of generating solution against to republic-sourced problems. In this context, our study aims to examine the historical and philoophical origins of multiculturalism and investigate the evaluation of multiculturalism phenomenon in Western Societies. After all, the multiculturalism in Turkey will be analyzed comperative to applications in the World Multiculturalism is one of the most important sociological concepts discussed in recent years. Almost in each period the people have experienced mobility due to reasons such as wars, immigration, natural disasters and thus it has been mentioned of coming together of different cultures, interacting and affecting each other’s. The coexistence of multiple cultures without destroying each other, conflict, without claiming superiority is an ideal situation. In the historical process in society in which many cultures living together many problems have emerged. Each community has been in efforts to enjoy, maintain and transfer their own culture to future generations. In a society in which multiple cultures coexist it has been observed that there have been more social audit and political control and cultural groups act in the knowledge of that. The important mentioned problem in multicultural societies is how to meet or evaluate the demands of cultural elements in the rhetoric of diversity. As far as nation-state organization which is the main component of modernization, humanity hosted to the coexistence of different cultures. However, by the modernization, composing a dominant culture in the social structure and the tradition that asserts melting other different cultures into this dominant culture was transforming to the evolutionary process of unicultural view. This situation led to the problematique regarding cultures’ existence and sustainability in homogeneous society. Multiculturalism subject essentially has become a major problem to be solved with the emergence of the nation state. Empire which nation states before the structuring was constituted a political reflection of coexistence of religious, cultural and ethnic groups with various organizations. Incorporating the various communities, empires that accept the difference, also follow a different approach and a political policy of apartheid to people according language, religion, gender. Nationstates who took over the remainder of the Empire delay on creating its own minority. Approach of the nation-states to minorities has been different from approach of the empire. Nation states built on the ideal of the nation’s homogeneity, sometimes by giving very harsh reactions to differences in society have been play hard applications. Nation-states which are a construction of the modern era, to ensure social cohesion they want to achieve a sense of cultural homogenization. In line with the goal of establishing a political union created nation, has become the dominant element in language, religious, social and cultural sense requested of differences have been either suppressed or ignored. Nation-states by adapting to its citizens such as a common root, a common history, the similarity of suffering and happiness have been tried to achieve being one the body ideal. National anthems, national holidays, name given to streets and squares, flag were seen as a sacred element. Objective is creating maintain a sense of the nation, to strengthen the sense of common belonging, single language, one nation, a single culture. National identity has been winning high sense of social identity dimensions of the modern era. Nation-states, while trying to maintain the brotherhood of nations most of the time showing harsh reactions to social differences, until the population exchange of genocide they give rise to the emergence of many painful events. Discriminatory and repressive policies which were applied to states for social differences in order to create a homogeneous nation have been a source of ethnocultural based conflict. Nation states created by modernization draw our attention by having some values such as democracy, secularism, equality and freedom, as well as canonizing these value. While these values keeping alive in the nation states, multi-culturism and the other concepts generated by powerful states harms the concept of “nation” which is the integrative component of modern state structures. Th

Özet

İnsanlık, modernitenin en önemli unsuru olan ulus-devlet yapılanmalarına kadar farklı kültür gruplarının bir aradalığına ev sahipliği yaptığı bir görünüm sergilemekteydi. Fakat modernizm ile birlikte toplumsal yapı içerisinde baskın bir kültür oluşturma ve diğer farklı kültürleri bu baskın kültür içerisinde eritme geleneği, toplumsal yapıların dönüştürmekteydi. Bu durum ise homojen toplumlarda, alt kültürlerin varlıklarını nasıl koruyabileceği ve sürdürebileceği sorunsalını doğurmaktaydı. Modernizmin yaratmış olduğu ulus devletler, demokrasi, laiklik, eşitlik ve özgürlük gibi değerlere sahip olmaları ve bu değerleri yüceltmeleri ile dikkatimizi çekmektedir. Ulus devletlerde bu değerler yaşatılırken, dünyada büyük güç merkezlerine sahip olan devletlerin ürettiği çokkültürlülük ve öteki kavramları modern devlet yapılarının çimento unsuru olan millet kavramını zedelemektedir. Vatandaşlar arasında güçlü bir birliktelik ve ortak aidiyet duygusu yaratmak güçleşmektedir. çokkültürlülük; farklı dini, etnik ve dilsel yapıların yeniden bir arada yaşayabilme arzusunu göstermektedir. Farklı kültürler kimliksel, dilsel, dinsel varoluşlarını geçmişte sadece özel alanlar içerisinde yaşamaktaydılar. Fakat post-modernizmle birlikte kendilerini kamusal alanda çokkültürlülük bir Osmanlı mirasıdır. Osmanlının yıkılışından sonra onun yerine geçen modern cumhuriyetin üst-kimlik olarak kendisini "Türk" olarak tanımlaması diğer alt-kimliklerin yabancılaşması sorununu doğurmuştur. Fakat 1990'lı yıllardan itibaren özellikle akademik alandaki tartışmalar ve AB'ye giriş sürecindeki reformlar Cumhuriyetin ortaya çıkarmış olduğu sorunlara karşı bir çözüm üretebilme potansiyelini göstermiştir. Bu bağlamda öncelikle çalışmamızda çokkültürlülüğün tarihsel ve felsefi kökenleri incelenmeye çalışılmakta ve Batılı ülkelerde çokkültürlülük olgusunun nasıl ele alınıp değerlendirildiği araştırılmaktadır. Son olarak ise çokkültürlülüğün Türkiye'deki ele alınışının dünyadaki uygulamalarla ilişki ve farklılık düzeyleri analiz edilmeye çalışılmaktadır