The Others of the Justice and Development Party (JDP): A Gender-Based Approach to Hum Debate in Modern Turkey

Authors : Can Özelgün

Pages : 732-757

Doi:10.53376/ap.2025.26

View : 155 | Download : 208

Publication Date : 2025-10-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This article explores the evolving meanings and political uses of the Qur’anic pronoun hum, a locally rooted tool of exclusion and legitimation in Turkey’s political history. Tracing its genealogy from the 1876 Kanun-u Esasi debates to the Justice and Development Party’s (JDP) gender regime (2011–2021), it argues that hum historically marked the line between those deemed politically legitimate and those excluded. While its referents have shifted—from non-Muslims in the late Ottoman era to feminists, LGBTQI+ individuals, atheists, etc. in contemporary Turkey—it remains an elastic boundary of otherization. Adopting a longue durée perspective, the article links the JDP’s discourse to its center-right predecessors, demonstrating a paternalist-populist fusion shapes gender politics. In this context, hum sustains a binary between “pure” and “corrupt” women. The study thus contributes to debates on gendered legitimacy and illustrates how exclusionary scripts are redefined under authoritarian configurations.
Keywords : Toplumsal Cinsiyet, Öteki, AKP, Meşruiyet, Anayasa

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