BB: Turkey Between Biopolitical Practices and National Identity

Gabriele Leone is a junior visiting research fellow in the field of excellence and will spend the summer semester 2023 in Graz.

During the summer semester of 2023, Gabriele Leone will conduct research at the Centre for Southeast European Studies, focusing on the Turkish Republic and the implementation of biopolitical practices by the central state in the Kurdish-majority area of south-eastern Anatolia.

The primary objective of his research is to analyze the extent to which these biopolitical devices have been established, and to explore their relationship with the ever-interacting Europe. His research aims to trace historical developments in the Anatolian region from the end of the First World War and the implosion of the Ottoman Empire to the most recent events.

The central theme of Gabriele Leone's research project titled "Turkey: Biopolitics and National Identity" is to investigate the motivations behind the nation-state's use of biopolitical practices, which can be understood as the biological extrapolation of the political enemy. Furthermore, the project aims to examine the prospects that a possible rapprochement of Turkey with the EU may offer for the Kurdish population. By delving into these issues, Gabriele Leone hopes to shed light on the complex political and social dynamics of the Turkish Republic, while also contributing to a broader conversation on the relationship between biopolitics and national identity.