Change in security perceptions after 9/11: A comparative study of Orientalism and Islamophobia between Turkey and France

This thesis aims to compare and discuss Orientalism and Islamophobia in Turkey and France with the help of Postcolonial Theory and seeks to prove that a primarily Muslim-populated country like Turkey can have Oriental discourses just like the European former colonial powers. Turkey, which is a country that saw France as its role model for being modern and elite, has many common sides to compare with France. They are known as countries with common aspects in history, rigid laicism was one of the examples. Today, they both have one of the largest migrant populations in Europe, which increased significantly after the 2011 Arab Spring. France was a mighty colonial power over many Middle Eastern and African countries and had a unique history of being a dominant global power until World War II. France's "colonial" attitude seems to continue today on issues from assimilation to integration of the Muslim community. On the other hand, Turkey with its increased immigrant population is having problems and even though this problem of "irritation" seems something new, it goes back to the modernization era of Turkey. However, it is easier when we search about Europe or the West to analyze such aspects as Islamophobia and Orientalism, but it is hard to find a study that revolves around a country that is primarily Muslim-populated. Therefore, Turkey will provide us a unique example of a Muslim-majority country shaped by an Oriental mindset that is developed both externally and internally. Turkey is a unique example to study Orientalism among many other Muslim-majority countries in terms of its history as a former imperial power that once governed a vast part of the world – without being colonized by European powers. The increase of threat and change of identity for being Muslim with the post 9/11 attack caused both countries to construct different identities for their foreign Muslim communities and develop different types of problems within their borders. With the increased number of attacks and causes, such as the Arab Spring and its result on the migration process, the perceptions continued to evolve negatively. Negative impact and imaging created unwanted cases within both countries, such as hate, discrimination, and "Othering." Explaining the terms, cases, and methods with detailed information on both countries will provide a transparent comparison in this research. Therefore, the thesis will prove that in a Postcolonial world, not only a European country, which has a colonial past, can have Orientalist and Islamophobic discourses to their migrant subjects but also a country that is accepted as Middle Eastern throughout the world, and has primarily Muslim population, can also have these behaviors and approaches both in its history and contemporarily.