The Turks and Their Nation in the Worldview of Greeks in Patras

In this article, the inhabitants of Patras, a town in Peloponnese, discuss their views about the Turks, the most representative ethnic Other in Greece. They remember their childhood attitudes towards the Turks and compare them to the opinions they currently hold. In most cases they feel the need to rationalize their mistrust towards the state of Turkey and their use of overtly negative stereotypes to describe its people. They even appear willing to critically re-evaluate the standard versions of nationalist discourse that inform their views about the Turks. Nevertheless, their attempts to reconsider conventional beliefs about Turkey relies on nationalist readings of history and often results in the unintentional recycling of older stereotypes and the perpetuation of mistrust towards the ethnic Other.