Book Review: Challenging Political Binaries in Turkey’s Pluralist Reality

Reviewed Book: Contesting Pluralism(s): Islamism, Liberalism, and Nationalism in Turkey and Beyond. Cambridge University Press (2025) - by Nora Fisher-Onar

Book review by Arianna Zomparelli

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In the world of politics, there is often a tendency to reflect and view the world through overly divisive binaries that do not accurately represent the authentic political reality. Such binaries can frequently be exploited by both external and internal actors to justify populist strategies and reactionary governmental measures. Associate Professor at the University of San Francisco Nora Fisher-Onar’s Contesting Pluralism(s) represents an alternative to this strict dualist vision, leading readers to reflect and take into account the ample variety of political, religious, ethnic and ideological factors and coalitions that, by interacting with each other, shift and push for different outcomes in political matters. Through the author’s extensive work and research on Turkey, and her scholarly focus on comparative politics and political ideologies, her new book can be seen as the perfect blend of her vast regional expertise and careful analysis on the intersection of politics, religion and identity discourse.

In Contesting Pluralism(s), Fisher-Onar aims to challenge what are known and often misused binary concepts – such as ‘Islam’ vs ‘Democracy’ or ‘Secular’ vs ‘Religious’ – that are frequently applied to Turkey and other Muslim-populated countries, leading to a misreading of major historical events and political outcomes. Recognising the purpose of binary thinking as instrumental, the author proposes instead a reading of political outcomes through groupings of anti-pluralists, rooting for a single, unified national identity, and pluralisers who advocate for the coexistence of diverse identities. According to Fisher-Onar, these coalitions represent the main drivers for change in Turkey’s political and societal scenarios.

The book progresses in three distinct parts. The first, comprising the opening two chapters, is devoted to the theoretical background. Onar provides an analytical framework to confront the Orientalism/Occidentalism discourse that unfolded throughout what she denotes as the ‘third wave’ (p. 21), as with the AKP’s authoritarian turn, diverse and contrasting discourses occurred as scholars comprehended that the then-present political situation held more complexity than what were Orientalist/Occidentalist debates. In Chapter 2, Onar provides a strong analytical framework. To visually show the intersection of pluralizing and anti-pluralist orientations and public religion, the author maps a graph placing on the x-axis, the pluralist or anti-pluralist factor, and placing on the y-axis, the role of religion. Such graph is then mapped throughout the book to show how these alignments evolved overtime. To this, Fisher-Onar adds an original analytical framework employed to show how different parameters such as ideas, actors and structures may contribute to shaping political outcomes through a dynamic and fluid interplay.

Contained in the second part of the book, chapters 3 and 4 examine historical developments starting from the ‘Long Nineteenth Century’ (p. 61) extended up until 1914: it portrayed the transforming Ottoman Empire as protagonist of various crises and challenges, but also of pluralising reforms and efforts such as the Tanzimat Reforms seeking to modernize the Empire and enhance social and civil rights, until the initial phase of the Young Turks movement, while also exploring the rise of ethno-nationalism which offered a stark anti-pluralist view. Chapter 4 reflects on the ‘Short Twentieth Century’ (p. 95), coming to an end with the acquisition of the EU candidacy in 1999, seeing diverse actors challenging unitary nationalism in favour of a more pluralistic vision, whilst other actors favoured cultural homogenization and state centralisation. Overall, this historical excursus well highlights that the various challenges, crises and political transitions were the result of a variety and plurality of actors, ideas and structures, rather than binary logics.

The last chapters deal with the developments of the recent Twenty-First Century where we continue to see how Turkish politics in this period cannot be reduced to a binary debate of “Islamism” vs “Secularism”, as different characters of pluralisation and anti-pluralisation shaped this era. The hopes for pluralism and a more inclusive political order that were fostered through the reformist agenda initially pursued by the AKP-led government with a view towards EU accession were unfortunately shattered after the authoritarian shift following the 2013 Gezi Park Protests, which, however, brought to the fore diverse coalitions of pluralisers challenging the government. Following the 2016 coup attempt, Erdoğan implemented a stark series of authoritarian manoeuvres pushing for a constitutional referendum with the intent of establishing a more powerful presidential system, successfully expanding his presidential powers, thus leading to a more anti-pluralist and national-Islamist country.

One of the main strengths of this work is the author’s rich use of primary sources and impressive bibliography. Through wide-ranging interviews, as well as examining rhetoric employed by leaders in public speeches and discussions amongst experts, her repertoire leads to a very encompassing understanding of Turkey’s political setting, thus further enriching her argument. Moreover, another strength is the clear methodology and original analytical frameworks, described in the first part and then discussed throughout the rest of the book, which offer tools to elucidate the complex political context while offering a nuanced reading of political contestations. However, one minor potential limitation of the book is that it lacks tangible suggestions on how to translate such an original framework into something that could be potentially used in policies or institutions. As the employed frameworks, the author argues, could be used to analyse multiple countries’ political contestations, it could be beneficial to see practical suggestions for such implementation.

Despite this very minor weakness, overall, Fisher-Onar discusses an incredibly crucial notion in the contemporary world of IR, such as: that is, the idea that political events are often viewed through a strictly Western-centered lens, thus heightening aspects of exceptionalism, monolithicism, and Orientalism, while ignoring the very complex mechanisms of political contestation that truly shape and change political systems. At the same time, through our discounting of important lessons from non-Western countries, opportunities to learn and recognise potential democratic backsliding or important pluralising actors in our countries are often missed. In conclusion, Contesting Pluralism(s) can be seen as a remarkable retelling of what has built and continues to shape the political scenario of Turkey, while also offering an approach that could be comparatively employed in different countries.