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The Case of the Peoples' Democratic Congr Pedagogies of Solidarity in the Midst of War: The Prefiguring Post-National Futures: The case of the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK), Turkey ESRC Grant No: ES/R00403X/1. Turkey Case Study: The Peoples Democratic Congress (HDK) Birgul Kutan & Adnan Çelik July 2021 To Cite: Kutan, B & Çelik, A (2021) Prefiguring Post-National Futures: The case of the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK), Turkey. Turkey Case Study: The Peoples Democratic Congress (HDK). ESRC Grant No: ES/R00403X/1. Brighton: University of Sussex. Available at https://knowledge4struggle.org/ 1 PREFACE ......................................................................................................................................................... 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................................. 17 ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS AND NAMES OF ORGANISATIONS .................................................................. 18 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................ 20 THE FRAMEWORK OF THE REPORT ............................................................................................................................ 21 1. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY & APPROACH ................................................................................................. 22 FRAMEWORK OF SYSTEMATISATION .......................................................................................................................... 27 HDK-BASED CASE STUDY AND DATA COLLECTION PROCESS .......................................................................................... 29 FOCUS GROUPS AND WORKSHOPS ........................................................................................................................... 32 METHODOLOGICAL ADVANTAGES ............................................................................................................................. 37 METHODOLOGICAL CHALLENGES .............................................................................................................................. 39 ETHICS ................................................................................................................................................................ 40 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................................ 41 2: A CRITICAL HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE HDK ......................................................................................... 42 RE-BIRTH OF A NEW NATION: TOP-DOWN MODERNITY PROJECT ................................................................................... 42 SPATIAL GEOGRAPHIES OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS ......................................................................... 49 NEW OPPORTUNITIES, NEW CHALLENGES: TRANSFORMATION OF SPACES OF RESISTANCE IN THE POST-COLD WAR ENVIRONMENT ......................................................................................................................................................................... 51 SPACES OF ENGAGEMENT: EMERGING ALLIANCES ........................................................................................................ 57 THE DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS OF THE PEOPLES (HDK) AS A COMMON SOCIAL MOVEMENT SPACE ........................................ 62 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................................ 77 3. HOW DO KNOWLEDGE-MAKING AND LEARNING HAPPEN IN THE HDK? .................................................... 79 LEARNING IN STRUGGLE .......................................................................................................................................... 82 LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCES ................................................................................................................................. 92 LEARNING THROUGH STRUGGLE ............................................................................................................................... 94 LEARNING TO STRUGGLE ....................................................................................................................................... 110 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................................................... 130 4: KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION IN THE PREFIGURATIVE SPACES OF THE HDK ............................................... 132 UNITY IN DIVERSITY: FROM UNITY IN DIVERSITY TO COMMONING ................................................................................ 136 POLITICAL PARTY VS SOCIAL MOVEMENT ................................................................................................................. 154 STRUGGLE IN TIMES OF CONFLICT ........................................................................................................................... 175 THE PEACE PROCESS ............................................................................................................................................ 195 PREFIGURATIVE POLITICS ...................................................................................................................................... 210 KNOWLEDGE-MAKING IN PREFIGURATIVE GENDERED SPACES ...................................................................................... 222 CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................................................................... 253 5. IMPACTS OF KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION AND LEARNING ON HDK .......................................................... 255 CHANGING COMMON SENSE – CREATING GOOD SENSE ................................................................................................ 258 IMPACTS AT INDIVIDUAL LEVEL ............................................................................................................................... 261 IMPACTS AT THE INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL .................................................................................................................... 283 IMPACTS ON SOCIETAL LEVEL ................................................................................................................................. 292 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................................................... 303 6. CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................................... 305 WHAT DO HDK ACTIVISTS UNDERSTAND FROM ‘LEARNING’? ....................................................................................... 316 SOME FINAL REFLECTIONS .................................................................................................................................... 318 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................................... 320 2 Preface This case study of the Democratic Congress of the Peoples (HDK), Turkey, is part of a broader project, funded by the UK’s Economic & Social Research Council, under grant number ES/R00403X/1: ‘Social Movement Learning and Knowledge Production in the Struggle for Peace with Social Justice: Case Studies from Four Conflict-Affected Contexts’. This preface will provide a generic overview of the research rationale, theory, methodology and aims of this project. Research Rationale In an era of increasing global inequality, conflict and rising authoritarianism (Streeck, 2016; Piketty, 2014; Scarhill, 2013; Rogers, 2016) social movements often represent a first line of defence for some of the most marginalised communities on the planet, seeking to defend and extend the conditions for a basic and dignified human existence. That is to say, ‘social movements matter’ (Cox, 2018; SC, IDS and UNESCO, 2016; McAdam et al, 1999). Yet in the developing world, they often operate, organise and advocate in conditions of state repression, threats and insecurity, conditions which can serve to undermine movement cohesion, solidarity and effectiveness (Earl, 2013). This is particularly the case in countries affected by or emerging out of armed conflicts. This research seeks to explore the learning and knowledge production processes of four very different organisations that are part of broader social movements, located in four distinct countries and continents, as they advocate for peace with social justice in contexts of violent conflict and/or its aftermath. These institutions, who are core partners in the proposed research, are NOMADESC, a grassroots NGO based in Colombia; The Housing Assembly, a grassroots organisation from South Africa; The HDK (Peoples’ Democratic Congress), an umbrella organisation that brings together different social movements in Turkey; and the Madhesh Foundation, Nepal, an organisation that works with and for the excluded Madhesh community of the Terai planes of Southern Nepal. Each organisation, in different ways, advocates with and for marginalised communities seeking to defend and extend their basic rights to education, health, housing, life, dignity and equal treatment before the law. Each organisation, to different degrees,
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