New Turkish citizenship? Contestation of Muslim women and LGBT organizations

Abstract

Turkey's citizenship regime has come under increasing challenge from various societal segments since the 1990s. In this paper, we undertake a comparative analysis of Muslim women's and LGBT organizations' citizenship claims through the republican/liberal, equality/difference and public/private debates that have dominated theoretical discussions on citizenship. We argue that these claims can only be accommodated in a radical democratic polity where citizens acknowledge each other's coevality in constantly transforming the political. Our cases demonstrate that insofar as they transcend these binaries, they make such a polity possible. However, the remaining difficulties can at times disrupt the engagement of these disparate groups.