Being a Conscientious Objector In Turkey

Military service is obligatory for male-citizens and it is one of the most important components of hegemonic masculinity in the Turkish Republic. Conscription is used by the state to construct the citizen identity in the society. As a result it constructs hegemonic masculinity through militarism. However, militaries or militarization processes do not create only ideal citizens but they also create pacifists, rebels or conscientious objection which is directly related to conscription as a modern concept. This study claims that conscientious objection, refusal of the citizenship obligation, is a resistance to hegemonic masculinity, which is tightly related to militarist discourse.

Autorentext

Fatma Oya Aktä is a PhD candidate at Istanbul University (Turkey) and holds a Master s degree in Gender Studies from Central European University (Budapest/Hungary). Her studies focus on the intersection between militarism and masculinities.