Reflections of neo-Ottomanist discourse in Turkish news media: The case of The Magnificent Century

Abstract

Starting from the 2000s, when the neo-liberal conservative AKP (Justice and Development Party) came to power in Turkey, the neo-Ottomanist idea and identity became more visible as a political discourse in the public sphere. Increased use of neo-Ottomanist references, especially within the past ten years, has also appeared through popular cultural products such as books, feature films, TV commercials and TV series. Redefining the concept of Turkish nationalism and Turkish-Islamic synthesis within the neo-Ottomanist context, these products transferred these Ottomanist references into the popular arena. These attempts are not always welcomed by the AKP due to disagreements about the definition of Turkish conservatism and have sparked criticism. In this study, press coverage of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's neo-Ottomanist reaction and criticism towards the very content of a TV series, titled Muhtesem Yuzyil/The Magnificent Century (Tims Productions, Star TV, 2011-14), has been analysed. The research sample consisted of three national dailies, Cumhuriyet, Radikal and Yeni Safak, and the newspapers were examined using the method of content analysis. As a result, it can be argued that the sample newspapers have supported different ideological backgrounds around the discussions and speculations regarding the The Magnificent Century.