Cover not available

Article published In: Journal of Language and Politics
Vol. 11:4 (2012) ► pp.583–605

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
authorization required

The symbolic construction of communism in Turkish anti-communist propaganda during the Cold War

 | TED (Turkish Education Association) University and Ankara University
 | TED (Turkish Education Association) University and Ankara University
Published online: 25 January 2013
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.11.4.06ozm
The aim of this study is to analyse cultural and social referential importance of the stereotypes of communists/communism in the anti-communist propaganda texts circulated in Turkey during the Cold War. The article displays the symbolism underlying anti-communist discourse by re-reading the propaganda material as texts that introduce the reader to ultimate anti-communist fantasies. The analyzed texts were mainly produced by one of the leading participants of anti-communist struggle, namely the Association for Fighting Communism in Turkey (AFCT) (Türkiye Komünizmle Mücadele Derneği, TKMD, 1963–1977), and its members. The article shows that the analyzed anti-communist propaganda creates mystification as a strategy and builds a narration in which temporal, spatial, and personal references are obscure. The article also shows that anti-communist propaganda operates on traditional dichotomies nature/culture, emotion/reason, and body/mind and that the images of communists/communism are constructed by appealing to a variety of animal species connoting “danger”; the unsocial connoting of the “absence of rules” and animality; and the woman of desire recalling the “immoral” in the popular imagination. It is argued that the texts are all interdiscursive thus allowing for the sexist, Islamist and nationalist arguments to be used as supportive subtopics while defending the anti-communist cause. The analysis also establishes intertextual relationship with the Nazi anti-Jewish and anti-communist discourse.
References (60)
References
Adalet Partisi. 1973. Seçim Beyannamesi. Ankara: Doğuş.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ağaoğulları, Mehmet Ali. 1987. “The Ultranationalist Right.” In Turkey in Transition New Perspectives ed. by Irwin C. Schick and Ertuğrul Ahmet Tonak. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Aktay, Yasin. 2003. “Diaspora and Stability. Constitutive Elements in a Body of Knowledge.” In Turkish Islam and Secular State the Gülen Movement, ed. by Hakan Yavuz and John L. Esposito, 131—155. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Boelcke, Wili A. (ed). 1970. The Secret Conferences of Dr. Goebbels. The Nazi Propaganda War 1939—43. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co. Inc.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bora, Tanıl, and Kemal Can. 2000. Devlet Ocak Dergah, 6th ed. İstanbul: İletişim.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bora, Tanıl. 1999. “Türkiye’de Radikal Milliyetçi İdeolojinin Gelişme Seyri.” In 75 Yılda Düşünceler Tartışmalar, ed. by Mete Tunçay, 115—135. İstanbul: Tarih Vakfı Yayınları.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2003. “Alpaslan Türkeş.” In Modern Türkiye’de Siyasi Düşünce. Milliyetçilik, ed. by Tanıl Bora and Murat Gültekin, 686—705. İstanbul: İletişim.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2009. “Türkiye’de Faşist İdeoloji “Hürriyet Değil Faşizm Gibi Bir İdare İstiyoruz”.” In Modern Türkiye’de Siyasi Düşünce. Dönemler ve Zihniyetler, ed. by Tanıl Bora and Murat Gültekin, 349—369. İstanbul: İletişim.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Canetti, Elias. 1998. Kitle ve İktidar. İstanbul: Ayrıntı.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cumalıoğlu, Fehmi. 1963. Komünizm ve İslam. İstanbul: İlim Yayma Cemiyeti Yayınları.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Darendelioğlu, İlhan. 1962. Türkiye’de Komünizm Hareketleri, vol.21. İstanbul: Tan Matbaası.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Darendelioğlu, İlhan E. 1968. Türkiye’de Milliyetçilik Hareketleri. İstanbul: Toker Yayınları.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Delaney, Carol. 1987. “Seeds of Honor Fields of Shame.” In Honor and Shame and the Unity of the Mediterranean, ed. by David Gilmore, 35—48. Washington: American Anthropological Association.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Doob, Leonard. 1966. Public Opinion and Propaganda. Hamden: Archon.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Evliyaoğlu, Gökhan. 1962. Su Uyur Komünist Uyumaz. İstanbul: Toprak Dergisi Yayınları.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fairclough, Norman, and Ruth Wodak. 1997. “Critical Discourse Analysis.” In Discourse Studies: A Multidisciplinary Introduction, vol II1., ed. by Teun A. van Dijk, 258—284. London: Sage.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Freud, Sigmund. 1962. Civilization and its Discontents. James Strachey (trans.; ed). New York: W. W. Northon.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Giovanni, Maureen. 1987. “Female Chastity Codes in the Circum-Mediterranean: Comparative Perspectives.” In Honor and Shame and the Unity of the Mediterranean, ed. by David Gilmore, 61—74. Washington: American Anthropological Association.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Güventürk, Faruk. 1968. Komünizm ve Faaliyetleri (Hakkında Konferans). Diyarbakır: Baha Matbaası.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hall, Stuart. 1992. “The West and the Rest: Discourse and Power.” In Formations of Modernity, ed. by Stuart Hall and Bram Gieben, 275—320. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Karpat, Kemal. 1965. “Ideology in Turkey after the Revolution of 1960: Nationalism and Socialism.” The Turkish yearbook of International Relations VI: >68—118.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Komünizme ve Komünistlere Karşı Türk Basını, vol.81. 1966. Ankara: Komünizmle Mücadele Yayınları.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Korkud, Refik. 1966. Türkiye’de Milliyetçilerin 52 Metodu, Komünistlerin 26 Metodu. Ankara: Türkiye Fikir Ajansı.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Koyunyer, Fethi. 1964. “Örümcek ve Avı.” Mücadele 71: 25—28.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Landau, Jacob M. 1974. Radical Politics in Modern Turkey. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1982. “The Nationalist Action Party in Turkey.” Journal of Contemporary History 17 (4): 587—606. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Landau, Jacob. 1995. Pan-Turkism from Irredentism to Cooperation, 2nd ed. London: C. Hurst & Co.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Marlin, Randal. 2002. Propaganda and the Ethics of Persuasion. New York: Broadview Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mundkur, Balaji. 1978. “The Roots of Ophidian Symbolism.” Ethos 6 (2): 125—158. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Özakıncı, Cengiz. 2005. Türkiye’nin Siyasi İntiharı Yeni Osmanlı Tuzağı. Istanbul: Otopsi Yayınları.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Özman, Mine. 2005. Yaşandı mı Acaba? İstanbul: Mi-Ge Art.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gürsel, Cemal. 1968. “Komünizmden Şeytandan Kaçar Gibi Kaçınız.” In Komünizmle Mücadelede Türk Düşünürleri, ed. by Yılmaz Şakarcan, 91. İstanbul: Komünizmle Mücadele Gazetesi Yayını.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sadak Necmeddin. 1949. “Turkey Faces the Soviets.” Foreign Affairs 27 (3): 449—461. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sanal, Türker. 2000. Demirel Hükümetleri. İstanbul: Sim.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sander, Oral. 1975. “Turkey: The Staunchest Ally of the U.S?” In The Turkish yearbook of International Relations, 10—24. Ankara: A.Ü. Yayınları.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sürmen, Süleyman. 1965. “Komünizm ve Animalizm.” In Komünizme ve Komünistlere Karşı Türk Basını, vol. 21, 135—136. Ankara: Komünizmle Mücadele Yayınları.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Taşkın, Yüksel. 2003. “Anti-Komünizm ve Türk Milliyetçiliği: Endişe ve Pragmatizm.” In Modern Türkiye’de Siyasi Düşünce. Milliyetçilik, ed. by Tanıl Bora and Murat Gültekin, 619—634. İstanbul: İletişim.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tevetoğlu, Fethi. 1965. Açıklıyorum! Ankara: Komünizmle Mücadele Yayınları.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1968. Benim Gördüğüm Bugünkü Rusya. Ankara: Komünizmle Mücadele Yayınları.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1963. Faşist Yok, Komünist Var. Ankara: Komünizmle Mücadele Yayınları.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tudor, Andrew. 1989. Monsters and Mad Scientists: A Cultural History of the Horror Movie. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
TKMD Tüzüğü. 1963. İzmir: Karınca Matbaacılık.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
TKMD Genel Merkezi 1. 1963. İzmir: Halk Yayınları.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
TKMD Genel Merkezi 2. 1964. İzmir: Halk Yayınları.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
TKMD Genel Merkezi 4. 1966. İzmir: Halk Yayınları.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ünsal, Artun. 2002. Umuttan Yalnızlığa Türkiye İşçi Partisi (1961—1971). İstanbul: Tarih Vakfı Yurt Yayınları.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
van Dijk, Teun A. 2006. “Discourse and Manipulation.” Discourse & Society 17 (2): 359—383. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1993. “Principles of Critical Discourse Analysis.” Discourse & Society 4 (2): 249—283. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1981. “Episodes as Units of Discourse Analysis.” In Analyzing Discourse: Text and Talk, ed. by Deborah Tannen, 177—195. Georgetown: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Webster New International Dictionary Unabridged. 1976. USA: G&C. Merriam Co.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wiedmer, Caroline Alice. 1999. The Claims of Memory: Representations of the Holocaust in Contemporary Germany and France. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wodak, Ruth. 2004. “The Discourse-Historical Approach.” In Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis, ed. by Ruth Wodak and Michael Meyer, 63—95. London: Sage Publications.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yakın, Orhun. 2002. “Malum Dönem Filmleri.” Kebikeç 131: 207—224.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yazıcı, Nâzım. 1947. Komünizm Tehlikesi. İstanbul.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yücekök, Ahmet. 1972. Türkiye’de Derneklerin Gelişimleri (1946—1968). Ankara: A.Ü. S.B.F. Yayınları.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Žižek, Slavoj. 1994a. “It Doesn’t Have to be a Jew (interview with Josefina Ayerza).” Lusitania 1 (4). http://www.lacan.com/perfume/Zizekinter.htm
. 1994b. The Metastases of Enjoyement. London: Verso.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1996. “Fantasies as a Political Category: A Lacanian Approach.” Journal for the Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society 1 (2): 77—85.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (6)

Cited by six other publications

Beyribey, Tuncer
2023. Terrorism as a conceptual site for power struggles: problematization of terrorism in Turkey in the 1970s. European Journal of International Relations 29:1 ► pp. 179 ff. DOI logo
BEYRİBEY, Tuncer
2022. Terörist Özneyi Tarihselleştirmek: İktidar İlişkileri Çerçevesinde Türkiye’de Terörizm Söyleminin İnşası (1973-1980). Alternatif Politika 14:3 ► pp. 582 ff. DOI logo
Hisarlıoğlu, Fulya
2022. A Critical Geopolitical Reading of Turkish Foreign Policy. In Critical Readings of Turkey’s Foreign Policy, ► pp. 49 ff. DOI logo
Kılıç, Sadık
2022. Social Structures of Accumulation in a Semiperiphery Country. Review of Radical Political Economics 54:4 ► pp. 501 ff. DOI logo
Emen-Gökatalay, Gözde
2021. Popularizing and Promoting Nene Hatun as an Iconic Turkish Mother in Early Cold War Turkey. Journal of Middle East Women's Studies 17:1 ► pp. 43 ff. DOI logo
McGregor, Katharine
2016. Cold War scripts. South East Asia Research 24:2 ► pp. 242 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 13 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue