Discursive Construction of Geography in Populist Mobilization

Superority or Victimhood?

Abstract

The article argues that geographies are discursive constructs, designed to mobilize the crowd through the collective sense made by political leaders. Accordingly, this study seeks to examine the ways in which the leaders of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) have mobilized voters by means of re-instituting geography during election campaigns. It contributes to investigating the political mobilization of the AKP by appealing to attachment of geography. The findings demonstrate three main narratives: the construction of geographical perception, place satisfaction, and the imagination of place identity with the “chameleonic nature” of populism. In brief words, the article explores the ways in which the AKP leaders have leveraged geographic beliefs, stimulating the “we-ness,” in mobilizing.