The social construction of political identities in Turkey: A narrative analysis of conservative and secular identities

This study focuses on political secular and political conservative identities in Türkiye, which have historically become centralized and transformed into a source of political polarization. Drawing on Berger and Luckmann's theory of The Social Construction of Reality, it aims to reveal how these identities are constructed through experiences and social interactions during primary and secondary socialization processes. As part of the study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 politically conservative and 10 politically secular individuals residing in Konya. The research was carried out using a qualitative research method, specifically employing narrative analysis as one of the qualitative research designs. The findings indicate that political identity is a dynamic structure shaped by multiple factors such as family, education, media, and social environment. While family was found to have a significant influence on the construction of both political secular and political conservative identities, the most prominent divergence between these two identities was observed to occur around religion. Within the framework of political conservative identity, religion functions as a reference point that directly affects political preferences; whereas for political secular identity, religion is perceived both as a mechanism of pressure and as a cultural phenomenon that should be considered separate from politics. Keywords: Political Identity, Secularism, Conservatism, Berger and Luckmann, Social Construction of Reality.