The Routledge Handbook on Contemporary Turkey

Description

This Handbook discusses the new political and social realities in Turkey from a range of perspectives, emphasizing both changes as well as continuities. Contextualizing recent developments, the chapters, written by experts in their fields, combine analytical depth with a broad overview. In the last few years alone, Turkey has experienced a failed coup attempt; a prolonged state of emergency; the development of a presidential system based on the supreme power of the head of state; a crackdown on traditional and new media, universities and civil society organizations; the detention of journalists, mayors and members of parliament; the establishment of political tutelage over the judiciary; and a staggering economic crisis. It has also terminated talks with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK); intervened in and occupied mountainous border areas in northern Iraq to fight that organization; occupied Afrin and strips of territory in northern Syria; intervened in Libya; articulated an assertive transnational politics toward "kin" across the world; strained its relations with the European Union and the US, while developing relations with Russia; flirted with China's intercontinental Belt and Road Initiative; and carved out a presence in Africa, to name just a few of the most recent developments. This volume provides a comprehensive and wide-ranging overview of the making of modern Turkey. It is a key reference for students and scholars interested in political economy, security studies, international relations and Turkish studies. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Figures Tables Notes on Contributors 1 Introduction Bibliography 2 Politics and Ideology: Party and Opposition in the Late Ottoman and Early Republican Period Introduction The Hamidian Era and the Young Ottomans Union and Progress, Order and Collapse: The Young Turks Political Contestation at the Dawn of the Turkish Republic Ismet Inönü: Ideological Clashes and the Transition to the Multiparty System Notes Bibliography 3 Violence Against the Kurds in the Turkish Republic Introduction The Young Turk Era, 1913–1950 The 1938 Dersim Genocide The “1990s”: A New Phase of Turkish State Violence Old Habits, New Methods: Urban Destruction in 2015–2016 Conclusion Notes Bibliography 4 Remaking Turkey’s Polity and Cultural Landscapes Introduction Millet, the Mutation of a Social Category Constructing the Other in Public Sphere Nationalizing Assets Citizens With a Kinstate Reckonings Postscript Notes Bibliography Introduction The Refugees of the Balkan Wars and the First World War The Refugees From the Asia Minor Catastrophe (1922) Urban Settlements Rural Settlements When Greece Became Greek Conclusion Notes Bibliography 6 The Making of a National City: From Mezre to Elaziğ Introduction El-aziz: Emergence of a Modern Imperial Town Mezre: a Hamlet of Landlords Mamuretülaziz: Mezre Becoming a Suburban Town, 1850s–1870s Urban Transformation in Elaziz, 1880s–1890s From Elaziz to Elazig: Creating a National City Nationalization of the City and Its Discontents, 1900s–1920s The Rise of a Turkish Cultural Fortress, 1930s Between Abandonment and Development, 1940s–1970s Afterword Notes References 7 Populism in Turkey: From a Political Style to a Model for Global Politics? Introduction “The People Discovered”: Populism in the Late Ottoman Empire “The People Wanted”: Populism in the Single-Party Era (1923–1946) “The People Exalted”: the Populism of the 1950s “The People Polarized”: Mr Erdogan’s Neopopulism as a Model for Global Politics? Conclusion References 8 Turkish Secular Nationalism as Religion Introduction Religious Foundation of the Secular Turkish Republic Imagined Nation The Tactics of Emotions Between Secular and Religious Religious Nationalism and Fear Conclusion Notes Bibliography 9 Parties and Politics in Turkey Introduction Specific Links to State and Society Turkish Parties’ Links With Society The Difficulty of Identifying Stable Party Bases Specific Ties to Society: Factionalism and Clientelism Organizational Features and the Centralization of Power Links With the State Strong Links With the State Through the Capture of Public Resources The Enduring Interpenetration Between the State and Party in Office (1923–1960) The Deneutralization of the State A High-Risk Political Game With Limited Alternation in Office Limited Alternation in Office Unstable Coalitions A High-Risk Political Contest 3. AKP Rule: a New Era? Unceasing Consolidation in Power Tight Control Over Huge and Diverse Constituencies Monopolization of State Resources Conclusion: Towards a Change in the Role of Parties in Politics Notes References 10 Civil–Military Relations in Turkey: Patterns and Possibilities Introduction What Was the Role of the Army? How Did the Power of the Military Decline? Turkey’s Lost Decade Conclusion Bibliography 11 Coups and State Formation in Turkey Introduction A Brief History of Military Interventions in Turkey The 15 July 2016 Coup Attempt: Competing Narratives A ‘gift From God’: But to What End and for Whom? Conclusion Acknowledgements Notes Bibliography 12 Constitutions and Political Systems Drift Towards Authoritarianism The Constitutional Amendment of 2017 The System of Government Separation of Powers: Legislative–executive Relations The Judiciary Competitive Authoritarianism and Abusive Constitutionalism Notes Bibliography 13 Competitive Authoritarianism in Turkey Under the AKP Rule Introduction AKP’s Path to National Power Democratic Backsliding Under the AKP Rule Rising Competitive Authoritarianism Conclusion Acknowledgement Notes Bibliography 14 Politics of Truth and Post-Truth Introduction Truly a New Era? The Historical Trajectory The AKP and Truth Politics of Truth as Usual The Tripod of Post-Truth Politics Conclusion References 15 Kurdish Politics in Turkey Introduction The Emergence of the Kurdish National Movement in Turkey The Pro-Kurdish Political Parties in Turkey A New Violent Phase in the Conflict: 2015–present Conclusion References 16 Turkish Nationalism and Patriarchy Introduction Regime Crisis, Crisis Regime From TIS to Continuous National Liberation War Nationalisms and Gender Regimes – Competing Modes of Patriarchy? Concluding Remarks Notes References 17 Youth Politics Introduction Episode 1: Apathy, Nationalism, and Cynicism – Narratives of Politics in Post-1980 Episode 2: From Cynicism to Protest Episode 3: The AKP’s Youth Politics Conclusion Notes References 18 Tracing the Reverse History of Homosexuality From the Ottoman Empire to Contemporary Turkey: From Tolerance to ... Introduction Homosexuality in the Ottoman Empire: Tolerance Reversal of Trends: Intolerance Contemporary Attitudes: Continued Intolerance Conclusion Notes Bibliography 19 Mad Patriots: Militarized Masculinities and Nation-Building in Contemporary Turkish Novels Introduction Every Turk is Born as a Soldier! Not Every Turk is Born as a Soldier! Criticizing Militarized Masculinities in the Post-Kemalist Bildung Bibliography 20 Contemporary Cinema of Turkey: Being and Becoming Introduction The Beginning The Birth of a Populist Cinema Islamist Agenda Decline and Rebirth Gendered Images ‘The Literature of the Other’ New Cinema of Turkey Resistance Builds Its Own Narratives Cinema Beyond Borders Conclusion Notes References 21 Musical Diversity and the Struggle for Identities Introduction The Emergence of Public Music Life Music in the Republic of Turkey Urbanisation, Migration and Popular Music Musical Diversity and the Struggle for Musical Identities Conclusion Notes Bibliography 22 The Political Economy of Turkey in the Last Two Centuries Introduction: Ottoman Economic and Political Structure Emergence and Development of the Turkish Republic After 1980 After 2001 Conclusion References 23 The Kurdish Question in Contemporary Turkey: A Political Economy Perspective Introduction Neoliberal Turkey Persistence of Regional Disparities in Neoliberal Turkey Derisory Public and Private Investments GAP: Developmentalism From Above Conclusion Notes Bibliography 24 “Concrete” Steps Toward Modernization: Dam-, State-, and Nation-Building in Southeastern Turkey Introduction Dams, State-Building, and State-Building,-Nation-Building Damming the Euphrates and Tigris Dams as the Symbols of Modernization, Turkishness, and “Westernness” Conclusion Notes Bibliography 25 Political Economy of Environmental Conflicts in Turkey: From the Bergama Resistance to the Gezi Protests and Beyond Introduction Neoliberalization and the Rise of Environmental Conflicts From Minerals to Energy and Beyond Infrastructural Bridge to Urban Conflicts Environmentalizing Politics References 26 Agriculture and Rural Life in Turkey Introduction Period I: 1923–19803 Period II: Post-1980 Privatisations Trends Conclusion Notes References 27 The Layers of an Onion: Food and Nation in Turkey Introduction ‘Just Food’ ‘Oranin Nesi Meshur?’: the Banal Politics of Localism National Damages The Layers of an Onion: Peeling Food Inflation Notes Bibliography 28 Migration From Rural Anatolia to Metropolitan Cities Introduction Rural-to-urban Migration: When, Why, and How? Informality in the City Migrants’ Support Mechanisms The Neoliberal Regime Political Repression Conclusion Notes References 29 The Architecture of Dispossession, Disaster, and Emergency in Urban Turkey Introduction Emergency and Democracy The Architecture of Emergency/democracy in Mid-2010s Turkey The Architecture of Dispossession, Disaster, and Emergency Conclusion Notes Bibliography 30 Civilizing Space: Addressing Disorder in Rural and Urban Landscapes Introduction Inconvenience The Rural as Problem Negative Villages and Negative People Urban Transformation Looking Backward Notes References 31 Social Movements and Urban Activism in Turkey Introduction Grounding Social Movement Theory The First Social Movement in Turkey Social Movements in Turkey Today Conclusion Notes Bibliography 32 Religious Movements in Turkey Introduction Religion–state Relations in Turkey Islamist Mobilisation From the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic Islamist Political Party Mobilisation The Rise of the AKP Islamists in Power and Future Prospects The Transnational Alevi Movement Conclusion Notes Bibliography 33 The Quest for Cultural Power: Islamism, Culture and Art in Turkey Introduction Contextualizing “Cultural Power” The March to Culture “Cultural Clash”: Myth Or Reality? Conclusion Notes Works Cited 34 Media as Hyper-Social and Activists as Critical Generators in Contemporary Turkey Introduction Digital Activism Method of Approach Academic Reflections Into the Future of Digital Activism Case Studies From Morality to Political Censorship Elements of a Citizen Journalism Success Story Election Cases and Fact-Checking Transformed Media Sphere as an Independent-Activist-Distributed Ecosystem The Case of Medyascope Concluding Remarks Notes References 35 Turkey’s Responses to Refugees: Past and Present Introduction Early Twentieth Century: Refugees and Nation-Building Towards an Internationalization of the Refugee Regime Turkey’s Response to the Arrivals of Syrian Refugees Concluding Remarks Notes Bibliography 36 “Turkey is Bigger Than Turkey”: Diaspora-building and the Transnational Politics of the Turkish State Introduction Diaspora-building in Historical Perspective “Strong Diaspora, Strong Turkey”: The Rise of New Diasporic Institutions i. A Quality Generation: Crafting National Consciousness ii. Geography of the Heart: Building Kinship iii. Islamist Third Worldism: Ties of Friendship Conclusion Notes References 37 Turkey and the West: Dealignment in Contemporary Times Introduction Alignment With the West Gains During the Cold War Strained Relations Pivoting Away From the West? Conclusion References 38 Turkey and the Middle East Introduction Ahmet Davutoglu and the Strategic-Depth/Zero-Problems Policy The Kurdish Issue Conclusion Notes References 39 Turkey’s ‘novel’ Enterprising and Humanitarian Foreign Policy and Africa Introduction Turkey’s Enterprising and Humanitarian Foreign Policy Africa’s Rise in the International Arena History of Turkey’s Relations With Africa Turkey’s Economic Relations With Africa Turkey as a ‘humanitarian Agent’ in Africa Turkey as a ‘security Provider’ in Africa Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index