ABSTRACT
States attempt to make societies “legible” and simplified through social engineering tools, such as an official language, in order to consolidate their routine functions, such as taxation and the prevention of rebellion. With the Official Languages Act of 1969, Canada shifted to two official languages after the concerns over the French-speaking Quebecois and uses an ethnic classification in its population census to reflect the cultural diversity of nation. Based on nexus of international normative context and domestic political realities, state elites believe that ontological security of the state would be at risk if they do not take any measures toward their nationhood and minorities. The conventional dichotomy of security versus liberty should not necessarily be seen mutually exclusive in this context since liberty can also be an instrument of security. The comparison between the late Ottoman Empire and contemporary Turkey is likely to shed light on the two different social worlds of the governing diversity and nationhood.
