This work deals with the broad topic of “Politcal Power beyond the State” and shows with the particular example of the Fethullah Gülen movement in Turkey how a non-state actor takes political power beyond the nation-state and slowly but surely transforms the identity of the Turkish Republic.
A motivation to work on Fethullah Gülen as a political power beyond the state is the fact that Gülen in a survey of the British magazine on Foreign Policy in 2008 surprisingly was voted to be the most public intellectual in the world
This paper will try to evaluate how a single person could become that influential during the last decades that he is supposed to be one of the leading forces within the Turkish state at the beginning of the 21st century. What aims follows the person whose name is associated with a media empire, with business enterprises and especially a huge education network in Turkey and worldwide?
While writing this paper the author assumes that the Fethullah Gülen movement of today is already a political power beyond the Turkish nation-state which influences the economy, media, politics and education sustainable in an immense radius according to its own interests. Therefore, the main focus of this work will be to take a brief look at the motivations, origins and goals of the movement in regard of its activity in the educational sphere.
In summary, as a starting point for this paper and a general research question serves the demand: Is the Fethullah Gülen Movement just ´a´ force beyond the Turkish state, or meanwhile through its strong educational network even ´THE´ force beyond the Turkish Republic? As a matter of fact that this a term paper and not a thesis the author will concentrate especially on the movement’s educational engagement while claiming that it can be seen as the key for the community-transforming network.
After a brief introduction into the life of Fethullah Gülen, his main point of views and convictions will be examined. In a further step the educational network of the movement and its major fields of activity will be highlighted. Afterwards, the characteristics of the movement as a power beyond the state will be explained to finally come to a conclusion in Chapter Five.
Regarding the literature the author concentrates mainly on works from M. Hakan Yavuz, who is one of the main researches on political Islam in Turkey and Islamic inspired movements like Fethullah Gülen.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- I. Introduction
- II. Where does the Fethullah Gülen movement have its origins? An approach to understand Turkey's influential non-state actor.
- III. Knowledge is power: Education as the key of the Fethullah Gülen movement.
- IV. "A radical consequence of modernity": The Fethullah Gülen movement as a Political Power Beyond the Turkish nation-state
- V. Conclusion
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper analyzes the Fethullah Gülen movement in Turkey and its influence as a political power beyond the state. It investigates how this non-state actor, inspired by the spiritual ideas of Fethullah Gülen, has gained political influence and transformed the identity of the Turkish Republic. The paper focuses particularly on the movement's educational network and its impact on various aspects of Turkish society. Key themes explored in this paper include:- The origins and evolution of the Fethullah Gülen movement.
- The role of education in the movement's rise to power.
- The Fethullah Gülen movement's impact on Turkish society and its relationship with the state.
- The movement's influence on the economy, media, and politics.
- The significance of the movement as a "political power beyond the state."
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
- Chapter I: Introduction This chapter introduces the topic of "political power beyond the state" and uses the Fethullah Gülen movement in Turkey as a case study. The chapter explores the motivations behind the study and highlights the movement's significant influence on Turkish society. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the movement's educational network and its role in shaping the Turkish state.
- Chapter II: Where does the Fethullah Gülen movement have its origins? An approach to understand Turkey's influential non-state actor. This chapter provides an overview of the life and teachings of Fethullah Gülen, tracing the movement's origins and highlighting key events that shaped its development. It explores the influence of Sufi Islamic teachings on Gülen's ideology and examines his relationship with the Turkish state during various periods.
- Chapter III: Knowledge is power: Education as the key of the Fethullah Gülen movement. This chapter delves into the educational network established by the Fethullah Gülen movement, analyzing its strategies and impact on Turkish education. It discusses the movement's approach to knowledge, its influence on the educational landscape, and its goals in shaping the future generation.
- Chapter IV: "A radical consequence of modernity": The Fethullah Gülen movement as a Political Power Beyond the Turkish nation-state This chapter examines the Fethullah Gülen movement's rise to political power beyond the state. It explores the movement's strategies in influencing various sectors of Turkish society, including the economy, media, and politics. It analyses the movement's impact on Turkish identity and its relationship with the state.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The paper focuses on the Fethullah Gülen movement, a significant non-state actor in Turkey, its origins, and its educational network. It examines the movement's influence on Turkish society, its political power beyond the state, and its relationship with the Kemalist state. Key concepts include political Islam, Turkish-Islamic Synthesis, education, civil society, media, and the Turkish nation-state.- Quote paper
- Thomas Volk (Author), 2010, A radical consequence of modernity, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/153818
