Description
This paper explores the relationship between state power, nationalism, and minority experiences by paying particular attention to the affective dimension. My examination draws on in-depth interviews conducted with Armenians born and raised in Turkey and currently residing in Canada. The paper explores how Armenians, an ethnoreligious minority in Turkey, experienced and navigated an exclusionary, nationalist landscape, and how, looking back, they make meaning of these memories. The affective dimension of these experiences, powerfully encapsulated by the salience of fear, emerges as particularly critical in shaping interactions with fellow citizens as well as encounters with the state and other institutions. In these narratives, fear, which is inextricably linked to the political sphere, has an enduring quality across time and space, its effects expanding into participants’ post-emigration lives in Canada. While emotions mediate everyday interactions, the paper also demonstrates instances when they drive individual action.
Scholars studying minority experiences inside exclusionary landscapes have largely focused on the cultural sphere, exploring how individuals consume, talk about, and experience nations and nationalism through ritualized everyday practices. While these studies provide valuable insights into how nationalism works on the ground, they tend to neglect the enduring salience of political power in shaping everyday interactions. Similarly, the affective dimension of everyday interactions and their relationship to the political sphere remains understudied. Drawing on rich data on Armenians’ encounters with neighbors, friends, strangers, and state institutions, my work seeks to contribute to the existing literature by addressing the relationship between nationalism, political power, and emotions.
