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Turkey’s “Apology” and Image Repair on the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 June 2022

Senem B. Çevik Open the ORCID record for Senem B. Çevik [Opens in a new window]
Senem B. Çevik*
Affiliation:
Center for the Study Of Ethics and Morality, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
*
Emails: bsenem@hotmail.com, @bsenemcevik
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Abstract

Image and reputation are key factors in how nations are perceived by global audiences. Current and historical issues can pose as challenges to a nation’s reputation prompting the need to save face. The Armenian genocide is one of the most critical issues the Republic of Turkey has had to manage in terms of its global image and reputation. While the vast body of literature on the subject borrows from history and political science focusing on the mechanism of denial, this paper offers a communication framework to understand the rhetoric of Turkey’s image repair. Turkey’s crisis communication strategies vis-à-vis the centennial of the Armenian genocide are analyzed by employing Benoit’s image repair theory through a content analysis of official statements and declarations by the heads of state given in 2014 and 2015. In response to the emerging political crisis, the Turkish government primarily employed image repair strategies of evading responsibility and reducing offensiveness with the aim to appeal to international audiences.

Keywords

image repaircrisis communicationstrategic communicationgenocideArmeniaTurkey
Type
Article
Information
Nationalities Papers , Volume 52 , Issue 1 , January 2024 , pp. 167 - 177
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Association for the Study of Nationalities

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