STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE AND BIO-POWER A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY ELİF DEMİRBAŞ IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION JANUARY 2019 i Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences ________________________ Prof. Dr. Tülin Gençöz Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. ______________________ Prof. Dr. Ayşe Ayata Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. ________________________ Assist. Prof. Dr. Ömür Birler Supervisor Examining Committee Members Assist. Prof. Dr. James Alexander (Bilkent Uni.,POLS) ___________________ Assist. Prof. Dr. Ömür Birler (METU,SBKY) ___________________ Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cem Deveci (METU,SBKY) ___________________ ii I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name: Elif Demirbaş Signature: iii ABSTRACT STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE AND BIO-POWER Demirbaş, Elif MSc, Department of Political Science and Public Administration Supervisor: Assitant Prof. Ömür Birler January 2019, 134 pages In this thesis the concept of structural violence has been elaborated along with its position vis-à-vis Foucault's theory of bio-power. Considered as an alternative to the mainstream accounts of violence, that only sees violence as a physical, visible, intentional, and intersubjective act of harm, a more comprehensive understanding of violence, involving the concept of structural violence, is championed throughout. The concept of structural violence is put forth as an alternative view for recognizing invisible though equally fatal instances of violent actions. It is then combined with Foucault's accounts of power, and especially his concept of bio-power. It has been maintained that two concepts overlap greatly, especially in Foucault's accounts of neoliberal power. In the last chapter, this argument is supported by examples taken from different case studies conducted by different authors that reflect the violent effects of neoliberal practices. Keywords: Violence, structural violence, Foucault, neoliberalism. iv ÖZ YAPISAL ŞİDDET VE BİO-İKTİDAR Demirbaş, Elif Yüksek Lisans, Siyaset Bilimi ve Kamu Yönetimi Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Ömür Birler Ocak 2019, 134 sayfa Bu çalışmada yapısal şiddet kavramı ve onun Foucault'nun bio-iktidar kavramı karşısındaki durumu incelenmiştir. Şiddeti sadece fiziksel, görünür, kasıtlı ve sujeler-arası bir zarar verme eylemi olarak gören anaakım şiddet kavramsallaştırmalarına bir alternatif olarak ortaya çıkan ve yapısal şiddeti de bünyesinde barındıran kapsamlı şiddet anlayışı tez boyunca savunulmuştur. Yapısal şiddet kavramı görünmeyeN ama aynı şekilde öldürücü olan şiddet eylemlerini ayırt etmek için alternatif bir görüş olarak öne sürülmüştür. Sonrasında da Foucault’nun iktidar anlayışıyla, özellikle de onun bio-iktidar kavramıyla, birleştirilmiştir. Bu iki kavramın büyük ölçüde örtüştüğü iddia edilmiştir ve bu özellikle Foucault’nun neoliberalizm kavramsallaştırılmasında ortaya çıkmaktadır. Son bölümde, bu argüman neoliberal pratiklerin şiddet içeren yönlerini yansıtan vaka incelemelerinden alınmış örneklerle desteklenmiştir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Şiddet, yapısal şiddet, Foucault, neoliberalizm. v To my beloved parents vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am forever indebted to my thesis supervisor Ms. Ömür Birler for her guidance and endless support throughout the research. For all the last-minute advices and insights I am truly grateful. Indeed, it is not an overstatement to say that this accomplishment would not have been possible without her. My deepest gratitude goes to my partner in life and crime, Yücel Kaplan, who helped me in every way imaginable in this thesis, who stayed up late for me and did many arduous tasks that I was too lazy for. I am thankful to him for that and for many other things, beginning with just being alive. I would also like to thank my friends who helped me get through three years of graduate school. Some friends, like Beyhan Tufan, Tarık Akarsu and Ezgi Günok were tolerant enough (or dumb enough) to suffer my ups and downs throughout this process. And lastly, I must express my very profound gratitude to my parents for always reminding of my duties and for providing me with continuous encouragement that kept me vigilant and alert throughout the process of researching and writing this thesis. I could not have done this without them. Thank you. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM.................................................................................................. iii ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................iv ÖZ........................................................................................................................v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...................................................................................vi TABLE OF CONTENTS..................................................................................vii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................1 2. DEFINING VIOLENCE................................................................................8 2.1 Introduction...............................................................................................8 2.2. Roots of Violence..................................................................................10 2.2.1. Force and Violation.....................................................................10 2.2.2. Violence: Normative and Descriptive Usages.............................12 2.3 Minimalist Definition........................................................................... 15 2.3.1. Violence as the Dark Side of Force...............................................16 2.3.1.1. Visibility and Intentionality.................................................18 2.3.1.2. Perpetrator’s Point of View.................................................22 2.3.1.3. Omissions............................................................................23 2.3.1.4. Instrumentality.....................................................................24 2.3.2. Conservative Definition: Violence as the illegitimate Use of Force....................................................................................................27 2.4 The Comprehensive Definition.............................................................29 2.4.1. Significance of the Subject..........................................................31 2.4.2. Violence as Violation..................................................................35 2.4.3. Structural Violence......................................................................46 3. POWER AND VIOLENCE........................................................................54 3.1 Foucauldian Account of VioleNce............................................................54 3.1.1. Sovereign Power.............................................................................60 viii 3.1.2. Disciplinary Power.........................................................................61 3.1.3. Bio-power.......................................................................................65 3.2 Neoliberalism in Foucault.......................................................................74 4. THE INTERACTION OF POWER AND VIOLENCE: A CASE STUDY, NEOLIBERALISM...........................................................................................79 4.1 Introduction...........................................................................................79 4.2 A “Very” Brief History of Neoliberalism.............................................80 4.3 Neoliberal Governmentality..................................................................84 4.4 Three Faces of Neoliberal Violence......................................................87 4.4.1. Insecurity in the Labor Market......................................................87 4.4.2. Privatization of Commons.............................................................92 4.4.3. Retraction of Welfare Policies.......................................................96 4.5 Conclusion............................................................................................98 5. CONCLUSION.........................................................................................100 REFERENCES................................................................................................106 APPENDICES A. TURKISH SUMMARY / TÜRKÇE ÖZET........................................114 B. THESIS PERMISSION FORM / TEZ İZİN FORMU........................125 ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION …the poor persoN does Not exist as aN iNescapable fact of destiny. His or her existeNce is not politically neutral, and it is not ethically inNoceNt. The poor are a by-product of the system iN which we live aNd for which we are respoNsible. They are margiNalized by our social aNd cultural world. They are the oppressed, exploited proletariat, robbed of the fruit of their labor aNd despoiled