Global Populism: Its Roots in Media and Religion| Mediating Muslim Victimhood: An Analysis of Religion and Populism in International Communication

Authors

  • Bilge Yesil City University of New York College of Staten Island

Keywords:

populism, Islam, Islamophobia, victimhood, international communication, international news channel, TRT World, AKP

Abstract

This article examines the mediation of Muslim victimhood and its articulation with religiously inflected populist tropes through the lens of Turkey’s first international news channel, TRT World (Turkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu—Turkish Radio and Television Corporation). Through a discourse-historical analysis, this article sheds light on the thematic frameworks embodied in TRT World documentaries that tackle Muslim suffering and Islamophobia while contextualizing them within the AKP’s ideational framework. In doing so, it contributes to the scholarly literature on the nexus of populism and religion, which has been dominated by analyses of right-wing populist parties and movements in contemporary Europe and the United States.

Author Biography

Bilge Yesil, City University of New York College of Staten Island

Associate Professor, City University of New York College of Staten Island Doctoral Faculty, Middle Eastern Studies, CUNY Graduate Center

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Published

2023-04-04

Issue

Section

Special Sections