Abstract: Anxiety, Identity and Otherness  

The rise of authoritarianism is accompanied by memory politics that promise the return to former greatness and alleged ‘true’ national identity. However, as identity constructions are necessarily instable discursive processes of re-construction and boundary drawing, no ‘true’ or stable identity can ever be achieved.  At the same time, as identity constructions are temporal and instable, ontological security can never be fully achieved. This underlying sense of incompleteness leads to anxiety, which can be expressed in various forms, such as silencing alternative identity discourses and historical narratives, as well as in discursive practices such as othering to reassure oneself about one’s own superiority. Focusing on German – Turkish relations, expressions of anxiety and fear about changing world orders, the rise of authoritarianism and uncertainty about one’s own identity in political discourse and practices are uncovered.