The Time Beyond Space: Exploring Alternative Directions for the Analysis of Identity Formation in the case of Romania and Turkey

Abstract: The article explores the possibilities and potential limitations revealed by the comparative analysis of identity formation in the case of Romania and Turkey. The author develops the argument from a critique of mainstream social constructivist accounts in the field by rejecting the idea that territoriality is essential for the definition of national identities. Thus, the article attempts at opening paths toward structured analysis from alternative perspectives. The focus is not necessarily on the terms of comparative analysis, but rather on its sense and the clarification of its object. To that purpose, the author offers an interpretation of modes in which citizenship and language have been interpreted by Romanian and Turkish sovereignties at their very inception. The article thus proposes an account of national identities as colonisations of time, deeply connected to the ontology of sovereignty.