Introduction for special issue volume 29 No 2; edited by Kumru Toktamis and Isabel David
Turkey's... more Introduction for special issue volume 29 No 2; edited by Kumru Toktamis and Isabel David Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already established his place in history books, but the nature and the meaning of his legacy will be determined by researchers, intellectuals, scholars, and activists—people who observe, record, and study his leadership. In this special issue of the Mediterranean Quarterly—"Critical Crossroads: Erdogan and the Transformation of Turkey"—we attempt to join the arduous task of documenting and analyzing the decline of a twenty-first-century, democratically elected government into a domestically punitive and regionally aggressive authoritarian regime.
The attempt by the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party, AKP) to negotiate w... more The attempt by the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party, AKP) to negotiate with the Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan (Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK)and Kurdish politicians was presented as a resolution process by the government and perceived as a possibility to end violence by the peace-oriented segments of the Turkish and Kurdish populations in Turkey. Robust studies of this period that stretched from clandestine talks to the end of semi-public talks with Öcalan at the Imralı Prison argue that the AKP’s goals were disarmament of the PKK and instrumentalizing the process for domestic electoral support and regional power. The same period corresponds to the deterioration and eventual breakdown of the relationship between the AKP and Cemaat, its steadfast ally. Following the conceptualization of claim-making as performance in a contentious politics perspective, this study surveys the looming narrative on Cemaat as the impediment to peace and threat for democracy as it appears in the only available records of the process between 2005 and 2015, to conclude that the possibility of non-violence might have been overshadowed by the ongoing conflict within the religious alliance that had originally carried AKP to power.
Based on a continuous and relational understanding of state-formation, as conceptualized by Charl... more Based on a continuous and relational understanding of state-formation, as conceptualized by Charles Tilly, and inspired by Gramsci’s formulation of ‘war of position’, AKP regime in Turkey can be identified as a process of (re)-entrenchment. The AKP’s original claim to de-securitize the state–society relationship in Turkey has re-entrenched, re-aligned and re-institutionalized positions of power and democratic participation within the state to overcome the old-guard and establish its own hegemonic rule. The conspicuous disappearance of a booklet from 2013, i.e. the Silent Revolution, that was supposed to be the historical documentation of the AKP’s ambitious original claims from all AKP-related media effectively indicates its abandonment of these goals. This document reveals the contentious (re)entrenchments while the party ascended to power challenging deep-rooted security-oriented positions of the statist nationalism. This ascent to power was indeed a ‘war of position’ during which international opportunities created by the EU were effectively navigated and legislation and executive actions a) pertaining rule of law, human rights and freedoms, administrative accountability and transparency, b) economic and social reforms regarding vulnerable social groups, anti-corruption measures and labour relations, c) de-securitization and civilianization of government agencies and d) issues of Kurdish citizens were utilized as ‘trenches.’
This essay explores the relationship between the collapse of negotiations between Turkey and the ... more This essay explores the relationship between the collapse of negotiations between Turkey and the PKK and the rupture between the governing AKP and its former ally, the Cemaat or Gülen Movement. This schism transformed both the AKP regime and Kurdish politics. This article traces the shifting narratives of key actors in this process. It also identifies the multifaceted underpinnings of the political violence that erupted and disrupted the resolution/peace process. In the end, the peace/resolution process was a (re)entrenchment, or inadvertent re-positioning of violent means of suppression against Kurdish politics in Turkey, beyond the particular intentions, beliefs, ideas and attitudes of all parties.
In Turkey: The Pendulum between Military Rule and Civilian Authoritarianism, Fatih Çağatay Cengiz... more In Turkey: The Pendulum between Military Rule and Civilian Authoritarianism, Fatih Çağatay Cengiz explains Turkey’s trajectory of military and civilian authoritarianism while offering an alternative framework for understanding the Kemalist state and state-society relations. This book clearly captures the zeitgeist of the moment Turkey has passed/has been passing through: democratisation, authoritarianism, and the coup cycle. Moreover, the book not only focuses on Turkish domestic politics with regards to procedural democratisation and waves of authoritarianism under the Justice and Development Party ( Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP), it also engages with Turkey’s recent foreign policy; policy that pushes Turkey to take an active role in the Syrian conflict through the concept of ‘Neo-Ottomanism’.
The attempt by the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party, AKP) to negotiate w... more The attempt by the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party, AKP) to negotiate with the Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan (Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK)and Kurdish politicians was presented as a resolution process by the government and perceived as a possibility to end violence by the peace-oriented segments of the Turkish and Kurdish populations in Turkey. Robust studies of this period that stretched from clandestine talks to the end of semi-public talks with Öcalan at the Imralı Prison argue that the AKP’s goals were disarmament of the PKK and instrumentalizing the process for domestic electoral support and regional power. The same period corresponds to the deterioration and eventual breakdown of the relationship between the AKP and Cemaat, its steadfast ally. Following the conceptualization of claim-making as performance in a contentious politics perspective, this study surveys the looming narrative on Cemaat as the impediment to peace and threat for democracy as it appears in the only available records of the process between 2005 and 2015, to conclude that the possibility of non-violence might have been overshadowed by the ongoing conflict within the religious alliance that had originally carried AKP to power.
Abstract: Nationalism and nationhood are not authentic outcomes of a static ethnicity but are a c... more Abstract: Nationalism and nationhood are not authentic outcomes of a static ethnicity but are a contingent product of the nation-state era. Nations, nationality, and nationhood are socially-produced concepts, constantly contested, negotiated, reinforced, or rejected, by ...
Introduction for special issue volume 29 No 2; edited by Kumru Toktamis and Isabel David
Turkey's... more Introduction for special issue volume 29 No 2; edited by Kumru Toktamis and Isabel David Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already established his place in history books, but the nature and the meaning of his legacy will be determined by researchers, intellectuals, scholars, and activists—people who observe, record, and study his leadership. In this special issue of the Mediterranean Quarterly—"Critical Crossroads: Erdogan and the Transformation of Turkey"—we attempt to join the arduous task of documenting and analyzing the decline of a twenty-first-century, democratically elected government into a domestically punitive and regionally aggressive authoritarian regime.
The attempt by the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party, AKP) to negotiate w... more The attempt by the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party, AKP) to negotiate with the Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan (Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK)and Kurdish politicians was presented as a resolution process by the government and perceived as a possibility to end violence by the peace-oriented segments of the Turkish and Kurdish populations in Turkey. Robust studies of this period that stretched from clandestine talks to the end of semi-public talks with Öcalan at the Imralı Prison argue that the AKP’s goals were disarmament of the PKK and instrumentalizing the process for domestic electoral support and regional power. The same period corresponds to the deterioration and eventual breakdown of the relationship between the AKP and Cemaat, its steadfast ally. Following the conceptualization of claim-making as performance in a contentious politics perspective, this study surveys the looming narrative on Cemaat as the impediment to peace and threat for democracy as it appears in the only available records of the process between 2005 and 2015, to conclude that the possibility of non-violence might have been overshadowed by the ongoing conflict within the religious alliance that had originally carried AKP to power.
Based on a continuous and relational understanding of state-formation, as conceptualized by Charl... more Based on a continuous and relational understanding of state-formation, as conceptualized by Charles Tilly, and inspired by Gramsci’s formulation of ‘war of position’, AKP regime in Turkey can be identified as a process of (re)-entrenchment. The AKP’s original claim to de-securitize the state–society relationship in Turkey has re-entrenched, re-aligned and re-institutionalized positions of power and democratic participation within the state to overcome the old-guard and establish its own hegemonic rule. The conspicuous disappearance of a booklet from 2013, i.e. the Silent Revolution, that was supposed to be the historical documentation of the AKP’s ambitious original claims from all AKP-related media effectively indicates its abandonment of these goals. This document reveals the contentious (re)entrenchments while the party ascended to power challenging deep-rooted security-oriented positions of the statist nationalism. This ascent to power was indeed a ‘war of position’ during which international opportunities created by the EU were effectively navigated and legislation and executive actions a) pertaining rule of law, human rights and freedoms, administrative accountability and transparency, b) economic and social reforms regarding vulnerable social groups, anti-corruption measures and labour relations, c) de-securitization and civilianization of government agencies and d) issues of Kurdish citizens were utilized as ‘trenches.’
This essay explores the relationship between the collapse of negotiations between Turkey and the ... more This essay explores the relationship between the collapse of negotiations between Turkey and the PKK and the rupture between the governing AKP and its former ally, the Cemaat or Gülen Movement. This schism transformed both the AKP regime and Kurdish politics. This article traces the shifting narratives of key actors in this process. It also identifies the multifaceted underpinnings of the political violence that erupted and disrupted the resolution/peace process. In the end, the peace/resolution process was a (re)entrenchment, or inadvertent re-positioning of violent means of suppression against Kurdish politics in Turkey, beyond the particular intentions, beliefs, ideas and attitudes of all parties.
In Turkey: The Pendulum between Military Rule and Civilian Authoritarianism, Fatih Çağatay Cengiz... more In Turkey: The Pendulum between Military Rule and Civilian Authoritarianism, Fatih Çağatay Cengiz explains Turkey’s trajectory of military and civilian authoritarianism while offering an alternative framework for understanding the Kemalist state and state-society relations. This book clearly captures the zeitgeist of the moment Turkey has passed/has been passing through: democratisation, authoritarianism, and the coup cycle. Moreover, the book not only focuses on Turkish domestic politics with regards to procedural democratisation and waves of authoritarianism under the Justice and Development Party ( Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP), it also engages with Turkey’s recent foreign policy; policy that pushes Turkey to take an active role in the Syrian conflict through the concept of ‘Neo-Ottomanism’.
The attempt by the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party, AKP) to negotiate w... more The attempt by the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party, AKP) to negotiate with the Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan (Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK)and Kurdish politicians was presented as a resolution process by the government and perceived as a possibility to end violence by the peace-oriented segments of the Turkish and Kurdish populations in Turkey. Robust studies of this period that stretched from clandestine talks to the end of semi-public talks with Öcalan at the Imralı Prison argue that the AKP’s goals were disarmament of the PKK and instrumentalizing the process for domestic electoral support and regional power. The same period corresponds to the deterioration and eventual breakdown of the relationship between the AKP and Cemaat, its steadfast ally. Following the conceptualization of claim-making as performance in a contentious politics perspective, this study surveys the looming narrative on Cemaat as the impediment to peace and threat for democracy as it appears in the only available records of the process between 2005 and 2015, to conclude that the possibility of non-violence might have been overshadowed by the ongoing conflict within the religious alliance that had originally carried AKP to power.
Abstract: Nationalism and nationhood are not authentic outcomes of a static ethnicity but are a c... more Abstract: Nationalism and nationhood are not authentic outcomes of a static ethnicity but are a contingent product of the nation-state era. Nations, nationality, and nationhood are socially-produced concepts, constantly contested, negotiated, reinforced, or rejected, by ...
… on Global Development and Technology, 8, Jan 1, 2009
... Also see the following news/analysis websites on the Turkish investments in Northern ... The ... more ... Also see the following news/analysis websites on the Turkish investments in Northern ... The struggle over culture and power not only takes place within a defined territory, but the interpretive codes of nationhood redefine that territory.18 Presently in ... [t]here is an electricity sharing ...
Nihayetinde, 24 Haziran secimlerinin sonucunu muhafazakar Kurtler ve devletcilikten vazgecemeyen ... more Nihayetinde, 24 Haziran secimlerinin sonucunu muhafazakar Kurtler ve devletcilikten vazgecemeyen Kemalistler belirleyecek. O anlamda ben cok umutlu degilim.
22 haziran 2015 de Taraf gazetesinde yayinlanmis bu yazima artik internetten ulasilamiyor. Onemli... more 22 haziran 2015 de Taraf gazetesinde yayinlanmis bu yazima artik internetten ulasilamiyor. Onemli gordugum icin buraya kaydetmek istedim.
The War That Never Ended: Postwar Continuity and New Challenges in the Aftermath of the Habsburg ... more The War That Never Ended: Postwar Continuity and New Challenges in the Aftermath of the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires, 1918–1923
An International Conference and Research Workshop
Organiser: Institute of History, Jagiellonian University; Pratt Institute Venue: Poland, Kraków, Institute of History, Jagiellonian University Date: October 24–26, 2019 (Thursday–Saturday) Application deadline: June 1, 2019 Form of abstracts: electronic file (doc, docx, rtf, pdf), 300 words max in English Applications to be sent to: krakowpostWWI@pratt.edu Workshop fee: 250 PLN www: https://postwarconference.wordpress.com/
Call for Papers
In 1914, imploding European powers committed murder and mayhem on an unforeseen scale around the world with enormous and irreversible global consequences. This bloody, sometimes even fratricidal, struggle wrought unprecedented destruction and death; by the time this disaster was “over,” a new world emerged beyond the imaginations of the perpetrators, participants and witnesses of this era. Post-armistice humanity around the globe was changed and was left heavily scarred, anxious, and full of economic, political, and cultural uncertainty. Many reflected about the recent catastrophe and sought to engage entire societies in the formation of a new order. This re-building and re-imagining could be seen from the local to the national to international levels, and included the process of constructing a lasting memory of 1914–1918 and of creating narratives about the conflict. Undoubtedly, the years of the Great War are an important caesura in the historiography of the new world.
The centuries-old empires of Europe collapsed following the 1918 truce, but the agile colonial powers insisted on clinging to their overseas territories and their colonial clashes continued. For some historians there were not two world wars, but a twenty-year-long intermission that festered with uncertainties and anxieties. What is more, despite the fact that the Great War was over in the West, warfare continued for months and even years in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe, including the territories of the former Ottoman Empire. The War That Never Ended Conference invites papers engaging with the multilayered complexities, lasting and prolonged global contributions of this period, including the cultural, political, and social history of the immediate and prolonged aftermath of the First World War, its revolutions and birth of nations and states. We invite: • a particular focus on the responses of the politicians, intellectuals, artists, as well as ordinary citizens with the expectation that social history profoundly informs political and economic history; • papers focusing on and revealing the ensuing violence, mayhem and destruction in the aftermath of the war; • papers considering the creation of new cultural and political trends in the hothouse of the period; • a consideration of whether the term “Lost Generation” coined by Ernest Hemingway can be used in reference to East-Central Europe and the Ottoman Empire. • papers on post-imperial settlements, adjustments and consolidations within the geographies of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires to further our comparative understanding of post-imperial national projects and practices. Comparisons may consider areas and issues such the rule of law, the role of religion, minorities, (de)democratization, governance, as well as cultural, economic and political clashes in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. • explorations of the post-Great War formation of new states and their relationships with cultural diversity, de/colonization, democracy, and how they all interfaced with the impending clashes of World War II. Together, these inquiries can enhance our understanding of contemporary brutal conflicts such as the refugee crisis, the obstacles for democratization and the impending rise of authoritarianism in post-Empire geographies. While illuminating the post-Great War period, we hope The War That Never Ended Conference will also contribute to our understanding of the present. Accompanying events
The conference will be accompanied by keynote lectures delivered by experienced scholars in this field, as well as a source-studies seminar in the Kraków Archives and Museums. As a part of our workshop, we are planning to prepare a special tour to WWI battlefields in order to visit selected military cemeteries created to commemorate the fallen soldiers in Galicia, and to see some of the splendid examples of war monuments designed by then famous artists. The excursion will only take place in favourable weather conditions. As an alternative, we are planning a visit to Kraków’s museums.
Procedure
Abstracts, no longer than 300 words (including title, research questions, a brief description of sources and methods), as well as contact details, name and institutional affiliation, should be sent to: krakowpostWWI@pratt.edu. The deadline for abstract submission is 1st June 2019. The complete lineup of speakers will be announced by the end of June 2019.
Conference fee
The conference fee is 250 PLN (=€60/$65), which includes: participation, conference materials, participation in the planned excursion, refreshments, lunches and dinners. Please note that neither the costs of travels to and from Kraków nor of accommodation are covered by the organizers (however, we will be happy to assist you in looking for a hotel near the conference venue).
Uploads
Publications by kumru toktamis
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already established his place in history books, but the nature and the meaning of his legacy will be determined by researchers, intellectuals, scholars, and activists—people who observe, record, and study his leadership. In this special issue of the Mediterranean Quarterly—"Critical Crossroads: Erdogan and the Transformation of Turkey"—we attempt to join the arduous task of documenting and analyzing the decline of a twenty-first-century, democratically elected government into a domestically punitive and regionally aggressive authoritarian regime.
Books by kumru toktamis
http://en.aup.nl/books/9789089648075-everywhere-taksim.html
Papers by kumru toktamis
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already established his place in history books, but the nature and the meaning of his legacy will be determined by researchers, intellectuals, scholars, and activists—people who observe, record, and study his leadership. In this special issue of the Mediterranean Quarterly—"Critical Crossroads: Erdogan and the Transformation of Turkey"—we attempt to join the arduous task of documenting and analyzing the decline of a twenty-first-century, democratically elected government into a domestically punitive and regionally aggressive authoritarian regime.
http://en.aup.nl/books/9789089648075-everywhere-taksim.html
An International Conference and Research Workshop
Organiser: Institute of History, Jagiellonian University; Pratt Institute
Venue: Poland, Kraków, Institute of History, Jagiellonian University
Date: October 24–26, 2019 (Thursday–Saturday)
Application deadline: June 1, 2019
Form of abstracts: electronic file (doc, docx, rtf, pdf), 300 words max in English
Applications to be sent to: krakowpostWWI@pratt.edu
Workshop fee: 250 PLN
www: https://postwarconference.wordpress.com/
Call for Papers
In 1914, imploding European powers committed murder and mayhem on an unforeseen scale around the world with enormous and irreversible global consequences. This bloody, sometimes even fratricidal, struggle wrought unprecedented destruction and death; by the time this disaster was “over,” a new world emerged beyond the imaginations of the perpetrators, participants and witnesses of this era. Post-armistice humanity around the globe was changed and was left heavily scarred, anxious, and full of economic, political, and cultural uncertainty. Many reflected about the recent catastrophe and sought to engage entire societies in the formation of a new order. This re-building and re-imagining could be seen from the local to the national to international levels, and included the process of constructing a lasting memory of 1914–1918 and of creating narratives about the conflict. Undoubtedly, the years of the Great War are an important caesura in the historiography of the new world.
The centuries-old empires of Europe collapsed following the 1918 truce, but the agile colonial powers insisted on clinging to their overseas territories and their colonial clashes continued.
For some historians there were not two world wars, but a twenty-year-long intermission that festered with uncertainties and anxieties. What is more, despite the fact that the Great War was over in the West, warfare continued for months and even years in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe, including the territories of the former Ottoman Empire.
The War That Never Ended Conference invites papers engaging with the multilayered complexities, lasting and prolonged global contributions of this period, including the cultural, political, and social history of the immediate and prolonged aftermath of the First World War, its revolutions and birth of nations and states. We invite:
• a particular focus on the responses of the politicians, intellectuals, artists, as well as ordinary citizens with the expectation that social history profoundly informs political and economic history;
• papers focusing on and revealing the ensuing violence, mayhem and destruction in the aftermath of the war;
• papers considering the creation of new cultural and political trends in the hothouse of the period;
• a consideration of whether the term “Lost Generation” coined by Ernest Hemingway can be used in reference to East-Central Europe and the Ottoman Empire.
• papers on post-imperial settlements, adjustments and consolidations within the geographies of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires to further our comparative understanding of post-imperial national projects and practices. Comparisons may consider areas and issues such the rule of law, the role of religion, minorities, (de)democratization, governance, as well as cultural, economic and political clashes in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
• explorations of the post-Great War formation of new states and their relationships with cultural diversity, de/colonization, democracy, and how they all interfaced with the impending clashes of World War II.
Together, these inquiries can enhance our understanding of contemporary brutal conflicts such as the refugee crisis, the obstacles for democratization and the impending rise of authoritarianism in post-Empire geographies. While illuminating the post-Great War period, we hope The War That Never Ended Conference will also contribute to our understanding of the present.
Accompanying events
The conference will be accompanied by keynote lectures delivered by experienced scholars in this field, as well as a source-studies seminar in the Kraków Archives and Museums.
As a part of our workshop, we are planning to prepare a special tour to WWI battlefields in order to visit selected military cemeteries created to commemorate the fallen soldiers in Galicia, and to see some of the splendid examples of war monuments designed by then famous artists. The excursion will only take place in favourable weather conditions. As an alternative, we are planning a visit to Kraków’s museums.
Procedure
Abstracts, no longer than 300 words (including title, research questions, a brief description of sources and methods), as well as contact details, name and institutional affiliation, should be sent to: krakowpostWWI@pratt.edu. The deadline for abstract submission is 1st June 2019. The complete lineup of speakers will be announced by the end of June 2019.
Conference fee
The conference fee is 250 PLN (=€60/$65), which includes: participation, conference materials, participation in the planned excursion, refreshments, lunches and dinners. Please note that neither the costs of travels to and from Kraków nor of accommodation are covered by the organizers (however, we will be happy to assist you in looking for a hotel near the conference venue).
Organizing Committee
Tomasz Pudłocki, Jagiellonian University (tomaszpudlocki@hoga.pl)
Kamil Ruszała, Jagiellonian University (kamil.ruszala@uj.edu.pl)
Kumru Toktamis, Pratt Institute (ktoktami@pratt.edu)