Ontological Security and Reconstructing the National Self: Turkish State Television (TRT1)
INTPOLSEC 2026, Antalya, Türkiye, 29 - 30 Nisan 2026, ss.62, (Özet Bildiri)
- Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
- Basıldığı Şehir: Antalya
- Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.62
- TED Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Ontological Security and Reconstructing the National Self: Turkish State Television (TRT1)
Security is traditionally defined as the protection of entities from external aggression, necessitating an awareness of potential threats and their underlying motivations. However, beyond physical safety lies the realm of ontological security—a state of being that ensures stability by constructing a cohesive "self" anchored in historical continuity. For centuries, state authorities have engineered this psychological fortress by embedding mythological narratives into the physical landscape and utilising public art together with monumental architecture to define the nation’s aesthetic and ideological boundaries. These static symbols served as the primary interface between the sovereign and the subject, reinforcing collective identity through visual permeance.
This paper argues that with the advent of mass media, the locus of this "security production" has fundamentally shifted. The static monument has been superseded by the dynamic narrative. We posit that television series function as modern tools. Unlike stone monuments, serialised dramas offer a continuous, renewable engagement with audiences, allowing the state to reconstruct historical myths and manage contemporary anxieties in real time following certain thematic patterns. By analysing the TRT1 series, which are shown during the 2025-2026 season, the Turkish Republic’s state-owned official TV channel, and its Instagram account, we examined how ontological security is reconstructed through titles, scenarios, and images.
Keywords: Ontological security, TV1 series, national self, TV dramas.