Assembling a Critical Toponymy of Diplomacy: the Case of Ankara, Turkey

Abstract

An entire subdiscipline of critical toponymy has developed over the past decades to produce theoretically informed approaches to the study of place-naming, in general, and street-naming, in particular. Among other things, research has focused on the colonial politics of street-naming; renaming of streets after a regime change; and the social justice of street-naming. What has not been documented and discussed in detail, however, is street-naming in terms of interstate geopolitics and diplomacy. In light of this omission, the current paper analyses street-naming as a form of diplomatic gift-giving and an element of geopolitical representations. Drawing on the Turkish capital city of Ankara as a case study, our assemblage analysis shows that street-naming as a form of diplomatic gift-giving has multiple underlying intentions, from strengthening existing ties to recognising shared historical, cultural, ethnic and religious narratives. Street names can also be unwanted gifts to punish or shame other countries for breaking alliances or opposing the ruling regime's policies. As a form of ritual exchange, street-naming is highly choreographed and may include the obligation to reciprocate the gift. We end the article by suggesting new angles on, and directions for, critical toponymy and diplomacy research.