Papers by Catherine MacMillan
This paper seeks to analyse the portrayal of the Welsh characters in the popular 2010 BBC televis... more This paper seeks to analyse the portrayal of the Welsh characters in the popular 2010 BBC television comedy drama 'The Indian Doctor' from the point of view of Orientalist theory. The series, which is set in the 1960s focuses on the experiences of an Indian doctor and his wife in the Welsh mining village of Trefelin. The paper puts forward that, perhaps surprisingly, it is the Welsh, rather than the Indian characters, who are primarily Orientalised in the series.
This paper argues that Turkey's accession to the EU has been securitised by the French and German... more This paper argues that Turkey's accession to the EU has been securitised by the French and German right, according to the Copenhagen School's constructivist explanation of securitisation as a ‘speech act’. Moreover, like other critical security schools, the Copenhagen School argues that security is not limited to the state or the military, but that securitisation may take place in other sectors, with the political, economic, environmental and societal spheres as its referent object.
The paper analyses the various ways in which Europe/the EU is represented as Turkey's Other in th... more The paper analyses the various ways in which Europe/the EU is represented as Turkey's Other in the discourse of the four main Turkish political parties. The analysis is carried out according to the definition of five forms of Othering in International Relations proposed by Diez (2005) and Manners (2006) as well as the conception of Other as superior proposed, for instance, by Zarakol (2011). In contrast to traditional Kemalist discourse, which tends to view Europe as both threat and civilisational model, AKP discourse in particular tends to frame Europe as inferior and as belonging to a different civilisation, thus revealing a more self-confident, inclusive and Islamist national identity discourse
Balkan Journal of Philosophy, 2012
The prospect of the accession of Turkey, a large country with a mainly Muslim population, has pro... more The prospect of the accession of Turkey, a large country with a mainly Muslim population, has provoked considerable soul-searching within the EU regarding its identity and eventual borders, and, in consequence has resulted in dissent over whether Turkey should be allowed to become a full member or not. Using an approach informed by social constructivism and social identity theory, the discourse of political actors from the EU Member States and institutions on Turkey's accession is examined, and it is argued that the different opinions on Turkish full membership are underscored by differing conceptions of civilisation. The concept of civilisation is a polyvalent one. In particular, civilisation may be seen as one or many. Generally, when civilisation is seen as 'one' it is seen as representing 'universal values', including human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Here, then, civilisation is seen as largely being independent of cultural and religious background and as being potentially available to all; in other words there is a 'world civilisation'. According to this view of civilisation inherited from the French Enlightenment, then, while Western Europe is seen as the source of civilisation, the resulting values are potentially universal in nature. Here, then, civilisation is not a given; instead it can only be achieved as the result of progress and development. This is, broadly, the concept of civilisation reflected in the EU Treaties and the Copenhagen criteria for accession, in that any country which is considered geographically European and which respects the values on which the EU is founded is potentially eligible for membership. These values, such as democracy, human rights and the rule of law, are considered to be universal in nature; there is, then, no broader cultural or religious accession criteria. Thus, in this view, it makes no difference whether the accession country is Norway, Croatia or Turkey as long as the Copenhagen criteria are fulfilled. Most notably since the opening of accession negotiations between Turkey and the EU in 2005, however, Turkey's eventual full membership of the EU has been challenged on cultural and religious grounds, particularly among right-wing politicians in 'core' EU countries such as France and Germany. According to these arguments, Turkey does not belong, by view of its religion, history and culture, to European civilisation; it is therefore incapable of fully adopting the EU's core values, such as democracy, the rule of law or human and minority rights. This view of civilisation, heavily influenced by Huntington's 'Clash of Civilisations' thesis, can be contrasted with the 'Enlightenment' concept of civilisation described above in that it sees civilisations as multiple and determined by culture and religion. Thus, in this view the world is composed of several civilisations, each based upon different values which are determined by historical, cultural and religious features.
The paper explores Turkey–EU relations from a Bakhtinian perspective. Nykänen (2011), also using ... more The paper explores Turkey–EU relations from a Bakhtinian perspective. Nykänen (2011), also using a Bakhtinian perspective, has argued that the EU's stance in the accession process, particularly that of Turkey, has been monologic, which stymies the process by not allowing Turkey to ‘answer back’. This paper argues, in contrast, that, albeit in the context of a lack of dialogue, Turkey has indeed attempted to answer back to the EU through informal means, using a form of discourse that resembles Bakhtin's concept of the carnivalesque, characterised by a reversal of roles and hierarchies, parodies, laughter and the grotesque, which challenges the status quo by creating a ‘world upside-down’. In recent Turkish discourse, then, particularly that of leading members of the governing AKP, the traditional hierarchy of the ‘superior’ EU and the ‘inferior’ candidate country is broken own and reversed.
In the contet of the current Eurozone crisis, this paper argues that the economic crisis has prov... more In the contet of the current Eurozone crisis, this paper argues that the economic crisis has provoked a crisis of identity in the EU. This paper examines popular discourse on Germany and Angela Merkel in the Eurozone periphery, France and the UK according to which Europe iseffectively being colonised by Germany—the so-called ‘Fourth Reich’. Using theories of fear anddisgust including Burke’s Sublime, Kristeva’s Abject and, especially, Freud’s Uncanny, it is arguedthat this Discourse can be understood as an essentially Gothic narrative based around the fear of the‘return of the repressed’—in this case Nazi Germany
From Here to Diversity: …, Jan 1, 2010
LONDON, THE OCCIDENTALIST 'CITY OF MAN'IN DIRTY PRETTY THINGS AND ISLAND OF HOPE
Gender Studies, Jan 1, 2010
Gender Studies, Jan 1, 2009
The paper examines the depiction of Istanbul in two contemporary novels, Cornelia Golna's City of... more The paper examines the depiction of Istanbul in two contemporary novels, Cornelia Golna's City of Man's Desire and Antonio Gala's La Pasion Turca. In both novels Istanbul, as seen through the eyes of the principal characters, represents 'the Other': the female Other in the former novel and the Orientalist Other in the latter. Employing feminism and Orientalism as theoretical lenses, the present paper aims at establishing connections between the category of space and that of gender in two modern novels, written by a Spanish male writer and an American female one
The Feminine in the Culture of the Ancient Britons
Gender Studies, Jan 1, 2007
policy, Jan 1, 2002
In recent years, France has opposed full EU membership for Turkey while Britain has been one of t... more In recent years, France has opposed full EU membership for Turkey while Britain has been one of the staunchest supporters of Turkey's EU accession bid. This paper argues that this can be explained by fundamentally different conceptions of the EU in the two countries, based in turn on differences in national conceptions of state and nation. The paper thus analyses recent French and British discourse on the EU and, particularly, on Turkey's accession bid, according to Sjursen's (2007) framework of three idealised visions of the EU. These are firstly, the EU as a problem-solving entity, secundly as a values-based community based on a common cultural identity and finally as a post-national union underscored by 'universal' rights such as democracy and human rights