Workshop
"Authoritarianism, Democracy, and Citizenship in Contemporary Turkey"
25–26 May 2018 | Campus Griebnitzsee, House 7, Room 2.27
Turkish democracy has been passing through one of its deepest crises after the failed coup in 2016. Right after the failed coup, the AKP and President Erdoğan started a comprehensive restoration process to restructure the state and society in Turkey. This restoration process has been based on the declaration of the state of emergency, massive purges from the state, restriction of basic rights and freedoms and increasing suppression of public space. The escalation of authoritarian policies has culminated at the recent constitutional referendum and deeply affected the future of democratic politics in Turkey. It appears that studying social and political effects of these policies on citizenship and democracy in Turkey urgently needs a new research agenda and perspective.
In search of such a perspective, this workshop aims to focus on the current transformation of Turkish politics to answer the following questions: What are the social, political and economic dynamics of the current rise of authoritarianism in Turkey? Do these policies signal the emergence of a new regime in the Turkish context? How have these authoritarian policies been affecting citizenship, public space and political field? What are the consequences of these policies for the current state of politics of recognition and democratization in Turkey? How can the relationship between the recent escalation of security policies, authoritarianism, and transformation of rule of law be conceptualized? How can the social and political support behind the authoritarian policies be explained and theorized?