Cultural exclusion of the nation-state: A field study on equal citizenship demands of Alevis in the context of constitutional patriotism

Citizenship, which was not associated with an established culture until the French Revolution, has been indisputably the most affected institution from the attempts of homogenizing the community culturally, along with the arise of nation as the only source of legitimacy. Since then, the culture of the majority has been dominant and codified as the national culture; therefore, citizenship has become the most important instrument for adaptation and reproduction of the national culture. On the other hand, this attempt has led those who remain outside of the national culture to become regarded as minority. Minorities have been expected to leave the unique dimensions of their identities behind in favor of the national culture, and the thought that they need to dismiss their differences should they were to be included in the public domain has forced them to make a choice. In this way, the cultural monopoly and exclusivism have prevented minorities from living together with majorities as equals in the framework of citizenship. In Turkey, starting before the declaration of the republic but escalating along with the transition to the form of a nation-state, an understanding of cultural monopoly has become dominant, and citizenship has been seen as the most functional institution that produces and reproduces the majoritarian national culture as well as imposes it to those who remain outside of it. When looked at the social practice, the situation of communities other than ethnically Turk, religiously Hanafi, and linguistically Turkish-speaking has always been complicated, uncertain and unequal. As a result of this practice, while called as members of the nation because of their Turkishness, the Alawites have been excluded since they do not belong to the proper belief. By focusing on the inequalities led by appropriate citizen practices built on the culture of the majority, illustrated by the case of the Alawites, this study seeks to examine what type of strategies minorities develop regarding citizenship in order to both preserve their cultural identities and live together with majorities in an egalitarian order within the public domain. For this reason, the content of the emphasis of "equal citizenship" is looked through. In order to explain the Alawites' considerations upon equal citizenship as a minority group, Jurgen Habermas' constitutional patriotism concept is utilized. In this review, which is based on an ethnographic research method, it is designed for the non-standardized elite interview as the data collection technique.