The Republic of Love

At the heart ofThe Republic of Loveare the voices of three musiciansqueer nightclub star Zeki Muren,arabeskoriginator Orhan Gencebay, and pop diva Sezen Aksuwho collectively have dominated mass media in Turkey since the early 1950s. Their fame and ubiquity have made them national iconsbut, Martin Stokes here contends, they do not represent the official version of Turkish identity propagated by anthems or flags; instead they evoke a much more intimate and ambivalent conception of Turkishness. Using these three singers as a lens, Stokes examines Turkey's repressive politics and civil violence as well as its uncommonly vibrant public life in which music, art, literature, sports, and journalism have flourished. However, Stokes's primary concern is how Muren, Gencebay, and Aksu's music and careers can be understood in light of theories of cultural intimacy. In particular, he considers their contributions to the development of a Turkish concept of love, analyzing the ways these singers explore the private matters of intimacy, affection, and sentiment on the public stage.

Martin Stokes is University Lecturer in Ethnomusicology at Oxford University and a fellow of St. John’s College, Oxford. He is the author or editor of several books including The Arabesk Debate: Music and Musicians in Modern Turkey.