Category Archives: Essays

The Independent: Turkey’s actions in Syria see PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan go from model Middle East ‘strongman’ to tin-pot dictator – Robert Fisk

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Erdogan sent in the police to crush the demonstrators of Gezi Park last year, went berserk when it was suggested his party and relatives were involved in corruption scams, and fired or removed hundreds of police and security officers. Then he promised to wipe out “social media” before the municipal elections which he inevitably won, and uttered the kind of [...] → Read the full article…

Project Syndicate: Turkey’s Electoral Dictatorship – Timur Kuran

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In the run-up to Turkey’s municipal elections on March 30, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared that the popular vote would serve as a referendum on his scandal-plagued leadership. With the help of his Justice and Development Party (AKP), which centered its campaigning on him, Erdoğan was able to redefine the elections. His opponents blindly played along, hoping that the [...] → Read the full article…

Jadaliyya: Alevizing Gezi – Ayfer Karakaya-Stump

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Berkin Elvan’s funeral services, which were held at the Okmeydani Cemevi on 12 March, once again raised the question of why all six youths killed during the Gezi Protests—or, if we are to approach the Gezi process within a broader framework, why seven out of eight youths killed—were Alevîs. Indeed, the question is not a new one; months prior to [...] → Read the full article…

New York Times: After the Protests – Zeynep Tufekci

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Media in the hands of citizens can rattle regimes. It makes it much harder for rulers to maintain legitimacy by controlling the public sphere. But activists, who have made such effective use of technology to rally supporters, still need to figure out how to convert that energy into greater impact. LAST Wednesday, more than 100,000 people showed up in Istanbul [...] → Read the full article…

The American Interest: The End of Erdogan – Henri J. Barkey

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Even if his party manages to scrape by in Turkey’s upcoming municipal elections on March 30, Prime Minister Erdogan has already done irreparable harm to his brand. It is hard to imagine how in any society a Prime Minister caught on tape firing journalists because he does not like their point of view or instructing television stations to stop the [...] → Read the full article…

Al-Monitor: Erdogan’s silence shows absence of moral compass – Amberin Zaman

Turkey's Prime Minister Erdogan steps off from his plane as he arrives in Elazig for an election rally of his ruling AK Party

On March 12, thousands of Turkish citizens poured into the streets of Istanbul to take part in the funeral of Berkin Elvan. The 15-year-old boy with huge dark eyes and an impish smile has emerged as a symbol of protest against the tightening grip of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Across the nation, thousands more are chanting “Killer Erdogan,” and braving water cannons [...] → Read the full article…

ROAR Magazine: Death of Turkish teenager awakens dormant Gezi spirit – Binnaz Saktanber

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The death of 15-year-old Berkin Elvan, who spent 269 days in coma after being hit by a teargas canister last June, is sparking renewed protests in Turkey. On Tuesday, Berkin Elvan died. He was 15 years old and weighed a mere 35 pounds (16 kilograms) at the time of his death. He was in a coma for the last 269 [...] → Read the full article…

Turkeyetc: “Seni Bilen Hayran, Bilmeyen Düşman” or, Why Erdogan Remains So Popular

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At a rally in Bakırköy last Saturday, members of the all-female audience were whipped up like teenagers at a pop concert long before the main speaker arrived. “Who are we waiting for?” teased the compere. “Recep Tayyip Erdoğan!” they roared in reply. When I asked some of the women what they liked about Turkey’s Prime Minister, most struggled at first [...] → Read the full article…

Roar Magazine: Culmination of Resistance Against Urban Neoliberalism – Burak Köse

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Emerging from a long history of resistance to the AKP’s spatial politics, Gezi made it possible to imagine a more egalitarian and democratic way of life. On December 17, 2013, Turkey woke up to another morning of dawn operations involving raids, home and office searches, and arrests that have become a routine in the legal and political landscape of the [...] → Read the full article…

The Guardian: Where will it kick off next? – Paul Mason

A boy wearing a Guy Fawkes mask in Gezi Park

The Gezi Park events marked a turning point in the global unrest we’re living through. Though not officially a Bric country, Turkey has most of the attributes of one – high growth, a young population, a repressive state prone to corruption and arbitrary action. So after Gezi it was no surprise to see Brazil’s protest movement spiral into a million people on the [...] → Read the full article…

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