Hybrid Party-Movements, Popular Mobilization, and Authoritarian Capture in Turkey
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BETWEEN PARTY AND PROTEST: HYBRID PARTY-MOVEMENTS, POPULAR MOBILIZATION, AND AUTHORITARIAN CAPTURE IN TURKEY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIRMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN POLITICAL SCIENCE SPRING 2018 By OZGE TEKIN Dissertation Committee: Nevzat Soguk, Chairperson Ehito Kimura Farideh Farhi Kathy Ferguson Tamara Albertini Abstract The literature on contentious politics generally assumes that social movements at the forefront of challenging authoritarian rule are among the most committed to democratization. The explicit assumption is that social movements mobilize against authoritarian regimes simply because they are authoritarian, not because of underlying ideological convictions that may or may not favor democracy over the long-term. This dissertation suggests that this perspective suffers from a one- dimensional understanding of social movements that relies on conceptual and theoretical distinctions between state and society that are not as clear-cut as some of the empirical evidence indicates. While conventional dichotomies between state and non-state groups have been helpful in explaining how western social movements have positively impacted democratization, they have been less helpful in explaining cases where such boundaries become blurred and amorphous, sometimes producing authoritarian outcomes. Based on archival research, discourse analysis of interviews, and participant observation, I assess the implications of this paradox by examining the case of the AKP party in Turkey, which has been simultaneously conceptualized as both a social movement and a political party. By examining the counterintuitive expectations generated by this dynamic, I aim to show how hybrid party-movements challenge the democratizing assumptions that are a mainstay of social movement research. 2 Table of Contents Introduction 9 - 20 Chapter 1 21 – 68 Rethinking Social Movements in Authoritarian Regimes The puzzles, the paradoxes, and the arguments Chapter 2 69 – 154 From Within and Outside of the State Contentious historicizing social movement mobilization and the military in Turkey Chapter 3 155 – 195 Establishing Civilian Control over the Turkish Military The undervalued importance of discourse Chapter 4 196 – 219 External Factors The impact of globalization Bibliography 220 – 235 3 Acknowledgements This dissertation is penned with the goal of examining how internecine power struggles between Turkish social movements and the state has subsequently impacted state willingness to deploy its coercive power and extend its authoritarian controls over society, which is manifested most tangibly and consistently in the series of military coups and interventions that has distinguished Turkish political-military history. Scoial movements have long been assumed to embody the very spirit of democracy, mobilizing the cause of democratic justice through disruptive acts of collective protest and mass social mobilization, but the case of the AKP presents a paradox of sorts that challenges the democratizing assumptions inherent in the study of social movements. Initially founded as a movement for social and democratic justice, the AKP was repeatedly expelled from participation as a formal political party due to its willingness to rhetorically violate the state’s secularist principles. The AKPs own underpinnings as a religious social movement, moreover, made the Turkish state abidingly vigilant of its later participation in competitive party politics. The most conspicuous sign of the state’s unease was in its willingness to kick the AKP out of participation in competitive party politics after running afoul of the stringent limitations placed on the discussion of religion in public life. The sheer predictability of the AKPs inevitable expulsion – and its equally predictable and inevitable return after having affirmed its unwavering commitment to secularism – has been the enduring dynamic that has defined contentious Turkish politics since the founding of the republic. In this dissertation, I suggest that the predictable pattern of the AKPs exclusion and inclusion established by the Turkish military yielded the type of unpredictable outcome they were most eager to prevent. By proscribing the movement’s political participation, and coercing its return to its social activist origins, it unwittingly facilitated and strengthened the movement’s communal 4 solidarities that increasingly outstripped the democratic commitments they espoused. The military’s prevarication over the AKPs future role was informed by its conflicting commitments to democratization while at the same time attempting to preserve the historically secular character of state institutions, which was often achieved through authoritarian means. The research and writing of this dissertation has to a large extent been made possible by others. My deepest thanks are first and foremost to my parents, my mother Hatice Tekin and my father Mehmet Tekin, who supported me in every way. Their encouragement, curiosity, and life- long investments in social justice in Turkey and their eagerness to always help others instilled in me an abiding empathy for the suffering of others. My beloved twin brother Ömer Tekin, who is by far the better version, never ceased in his emotional and intellectual support. I have been uncommonly fortunate to be born into a large family with dozens of aunts, uncles, and cousins, who collectively offered nothing but unconditional love and support during my tenure as a graduate student in America. Finally, I offer my deepest love and gratitude to my husband Amir Moheet, who always prioritized supporting me above all else, and taught me more about virtues such as kindness, compassion, courage, and dignity, but most importantly love. I am forever grateful for his support and lucky to have him as my partner in life. I owe a special thanks to Nevzat Soguk, my dissertation chair, for his support both as a mentor and friend throughout my doctoral studies in Hawaii. I would like to thank Manfred Steger for offering his tutelage on discourse analysis, which helped in the construction of my own research methodology. I also am indebted to Manfred for my experience as a teacher. I owe the third eye on my head to Tamara Albertini for her seminar on Islamic philosophy. Ehito Kimura’s steadfast encouragement made me think differently about the comparative horizons of my dissertation, allowing them to expand over time, and his theoretical and conceptual 5 contributions in large measure facilitated such an elaboration. Discussions and interactions with Farideh Farhi inspired me to draw parallels with the democratic mobilization and the Green Movement in Iran. I am thankful for the many coffee times we had together. I also would like to extend a special thank you to Kathy Ferguson, who graciously agreed to sit on the committee at the eleventh hour. Lastly, I thank the Hawaiian people and the wonderful islands of Hawai’i for graciously granting me with so many experiences with joy, excitement, beauty, 'aina and countless encounters with the spirit of Aloha. I will remind people of what it means to live with Aloha where ever life takes me and I will speak of the many injustices that continued to be perpetrated against the Hawaiian people who highlighted so much of what is beautiful about humanity in their culture and language, until the end of my time on this planet. Mahalo nui loa! 6 Abbreviations (in alphabetical order) Abbreviation Turkish English AFU Silahlı Kuvvetler Birliği Armed Forces Union AKP Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi Justice and Development AK Party Party ANAP Anavatan Partisi Motherland Party CHP Cumhuriyetçi Halk Partisi People’s Republican Party DİSK Türkiye Devrimçi İşçi Revolutionary Workers' Sendikalari Konfederasyonu Trade Unions Confederation of Turkey DİSK Türkiye Hak İşçi Sendikalari Turkish Just Workers' Unions Konfederasyonu Confederation of Turkey DİSK Türkiye Devrimçi İşçi Revolutionary Workers' Sendikalari Konfederasyonu Trade Unions Confederation DP Demokrat Parti Democrat Party DRA Diyanet Işleri Başkanlığı Directorate of Religious Affairs DSP Demokratik Sol Parti Democratic Left Party DYP Doğru Yol Partisi True Path Party EMINSU Emekli İnkılap Subaylar Association of Retired Derneği Officers of the Revolution EU Avrupa Birliği European Union FP Fazilet Partisi Virtue Party Hak-İş Türkiye Hak İşçi Sendikalari Turkish Just Workers' Unions Konfederasyonu Confederation of Turkey HDP Halkların Demokrasi Partisi People’s Democracy Party HP Halkçı Parti Populist Party HP Halkçı Parti Populist Party HSYK Hakim ve Savcılar Yüksek Supreme Board of Kurumu Prosecutors and Judges IMF Uluslararası Para Fonu International Monetary Fund ISIS Irak-Suriye Islam Devleti Islamic State of Iraq and Syria JITEM Jandarma İstihbarat ve Turkish Gendarmerie Terörle Mücadele Intelligence JP Adalet Partisi Justice Party KMD Komünizmle Mücadele Society for the Struggle Derneği against Communism MB Mücadele Birliği Union for Struggle MÇP Milliyetçi Çalışma Partisi Nationalist Endeavour Party MÇP Milliyetçi Çalışma Partisi Nationalist Endeavour Party 7 MDP Milliyetçi Demokrasi Partisi Nationalist Democracy Party MDP Milliyetçi Demokrasi Partisi Nationalist Democracy Party MHC Yüksek Askeri Şüra Military High Council MHP Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi Nationalist Movement Party MİSK Milliyetçi İşçi Sendikalari Turkish Nationalist Workers' Konfederasyonu Unions Confederation of Turkey MİSK Milliyetçi