The Discourse of ‘New Turkey’ in Contemporary Polish Reportage Books (2009–2024)

Abstract

This article examines how the concept of the ‘new Turkey’ is constructed and represented in six Polish literary reportage books published between 2009 and 2024. Using Norman Fairclough’s framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and drawing on the author’s background in Turkology, it investigates how language, ideology and power intersect in portrayals of contemporary Turkey. Although widely used, the term ‘new Turkey’ lacks a consistent definition and is often employed ambiguously—even within individual texts. Early reportages by Cegielski and Szabłowski associate it with republican modernity, while later works by Orchowski, Szumer-Brysz and Rostkowska link it to the AKP era and the aftermath of the 2016 coup attempt. By comparing these works diachronically, the article demonstrates how the term’s meaning shifts from a symbol of secular modernisation to a marker of ideological transformation in recent Turkish politics. Despite differing interpretations, the reportages share recurring themes: the status of ethnic and religious minorities, women’s rights, urban transformation and the tension between tradition and modernity. These themes reveal both historical continuities and contemporary political shifts. The authors—often with progressive or left-leaning perspectives—foreground marginalized voices and critique dominant narratives, though their view-points are shaped by cultural distance and the conventions of the reportage genre. Ultimately, the article argues that the ‘new Turkey’ is not a singular, definable entity but a contested discursive space shaped by competing ideologies and personal experiences. As Rostkowska observes, ‘no one knows if these countless New Turkeys will ever meet’.