Hürcan Asli Aksoy

The topic of my dissertation is the role of women’s rights organizations in the democratic consolidation process in Turkey under the ruling Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP). In examining the democratic consolidation process in Turkey, the study specifically focuses on the gendered dimension of that consolidation process. In other words, it analyzes if Turkish democracy is engendered.

In democratization literature, it has been argued that the proliferation of civic and political organizations makes policy making processes more inclusive, and thus contributes to the democratization of the political system. Accordingly, scholars of gender and women’s studies focus on women’s activism. The existing literature on Turkish women’s movements has long discussed the importance of women’s activism (feminists, Islamist women, Kurdish women’s groups etc.) for the democratization process in Turkey, pointing to the challenges these women have posed to the male-dominated state and political movements. But one of the rarely analyzed women’s groups are the Kemalist women’s rights organizations, known also as ‘secular’ or ‘republican women’. Although they were the first women’s group that were organized in the civil society arena, their significant contribution to advancing women’s rights and democratizing policy making has been largely neglected.
Drawing upon the empirical data collected through in-depth interviews and the document analysis, the paper highlights the role of Kemalist women’s rights organizations in democratizing policy making processes under Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule.

In analyzing women’s roles in democratization processes, the gender and transition literature focuses on women’s activism before and during the transition of an authoritarian regime towards a democratic one. When it comes to the post-transitional phase; i.e. the consolidation of democracy, the literature usually shifts its focus on the participation of women in formal political institutions to see if the goals of women’s activism have been realized in the newly democratized regime. Although the participation of women in the formal political arena is important for influencing the laws, regulations and policies regarding women’s rights and gender equality, substantial changes in women’s rights regime depend heavily on the vitality of women’s civil societal organizations (CSOs) who can monitor state’s policies on women, point to shortcomings in laws, pressure for gender-sensitive institutional changes and continue to raise public awareness on women’s rights.
Employing the case of Turkey’s democratic consolidation process, the paper examines the agency of organized women under the rule of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP). Drawing upon the information gathered from in-depth interviews, document analysis and academic surveys on violence against women, women’s rights and discrimination against women, the paper first presents the activities of four groups of women’s CSOs in Turkey- feminist, Kurdish, Islamist and Kemalist women’s CSOs. It then outlines their participation in political decision making processes regarding the aforementioned three issue areas and how the AKP government responds to the demands of women’s CSOs. Thereby, the paper discusses the challenges and barriers women’s CSOs confront in policy making processes. Drawing on findings, the paper critically discusses the role of women’s CSOs in the democratic consolidation process in Turkey. It concludes that increased civic and political participation of organized women have engendered Turkish democracy.

The main objective of the course is to enable the students to understand and analyze the political system in Turkey. We will examine the cultural context, institutional structure, socio-political processes as well as social movements and developments that shape the political life of contemporary Turkey. An equally significant aim of the course is to provide the students with the theoretical background to assess Turkish political development in the context of the field and discipline.

In this new course, students will explore the ways in which the social, political, and cultural construction of sexual difference influences the nature and practice of political life in the Middle East. The course will examine both theoretically and empirically the ways in which power is gendered and how gender has served as a basis for political organization, the distribution of power, and the boundaries of public life. The course will introduce students to some of the current debates on women in the region. Many themes will be examined to understand the political and economic context of struggles around gender issues; mobilization of women’s movements; the interaction of religion, law, and their interpretation; the gendered nature of the state; the path dependence and institutional nature of women’s movements and struggles; the gendered aspects of revolution, Westernization, secularism, globalization, and socialism in the Middle East.

Since the transition to democracy in 1946, Turkey struggles to consolidate its parliamentary democracy by expanding political participation and inclusion. In the beginning of the 1980s, Turkey has entered another pace in its democratic struggle. Liberalization of the economy was combined with the opening of the political system. Accordingly, different political groups could enter the political scene and challenge the authoritarian structures of the Turkish regime. Within this transformation process, organized women have played an essential role in redefining civil liberties and putting gender-specific issues onto the political agenda. Over years, they became important democratic agents in Turkey.
The aim of this course is to introduce the key issues and problems of Turkish democracy and to understand Turkey’s democratization process from a gendered perspective. To this end, the feminist critique to the study of democracy will be presented.

This course aims at introducing the students the political system of Turkey with the specific emphasis on the democratization process since the 1980s. After engaging with theories of democracy and democratic consolidation from Comparative Politics, the key institutions and actors in the Turkish political system will be investigated carefully. Within this context the conflicts and problems of the ongoing democratization process will be critically discussed. The timely focus will be on the ruling AKP. The goal of the course is to understand the structures and dynamics of the Turkish political system and develop a critical analysis for political developments and processes structuring Turkish politics and society.

Das zum Teil planlose Agieren der Regierung Erdoğan in der Corona-Krise könnte dem Präsidenten langfristig schaden, glauben Kritiker. Tatsächlich aber nutzt sie die Pandemie geschickt für den Machterhalt des Staatschefs. Für einen Abgesang ist es daher zu früh, meint Hürcan Aslı Aksoy.