Modern and European, with an Ottoman-Muslim face: imagery on the Turkish Lira as a tool for AKP nation-building

Governments use images on currency to promote a national identity to citizens and to foreigners who come in contact with the currency. We study the Turkish currency redesign of 2009, which was dominated by Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party, to understand how the party has promoted its nation-building message. First, the new banknotes continue to emphasize the importance of Atatürk. Second, the currency redesign clearly shows the influence of Western Europe. For the first time, the figures represented on the banknotes reflect the dominant Western European currency pattern of celebrating scholars, artists, and scientists rather than state officials or historic buildings. Third, the new banknotes also send a distinctively non-European message by celebrating medieval scholars and devout Muslims over more secular, modern individuals. Thus, the currency emphasizes Turkey’s distinctiveness within Europe, following the outward forms of European currency iconography but using Ottoman and Muslim imagery to suggest Turkey’s differences. In a state that has long defined its identity primarily in terms of Atatürk’s modern legacy, the AKP is shaping a new path that is simultaneously more and less European.