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DEVRIMCI YOL and the QUESTION of REVOLUTIONARY ORGANIZATION in TURKEY in the LATE 1970S a THESIS SUBM

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DEVRIMCI YOL and the QUESTION of REVOLUTIONARY ORGANIZATION in TURKEY in the LATE 1970S a THESIS SUBM THE RESISTANCE COMMITTEES: DEVRIMCI YOL AND THE QUESTION OF REVOLUTIONARY ORGANIZATION IN TURKEY IN THE LATE 1970s A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY SÜMERCAN BOZKURT IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION DECEMBER 2008 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Prof. Dr. Ra şit Kaya Head of Department That 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. Necmi Erdo ğan Supervisor Examining Committee Members Assist. Prof. Dr. Necmi Erdo ğan (METU, ADM) Assist. Prof. Dr. Fahriye Üstüner (METU, ADM) Assist. Prof. Dr. Pınar Bedirhano ğlu (METU, ADM) 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: SÜMERCAN BOZKURT Signature : iii ABSTRACT THE RESISTANCE COMMITTEES: DEVRIMCI YOL AND THE QUESTION OF REVOLUTIONARY ORGANIZATION IN TURKEY IN THE LATE 1970s Bozkurt, Sümercan M.S., Department of Political Science and Public Administration Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Necmi Erdo ğan December 2008, 135 pages This thesis aims to examine the experiences of the resistance committees organized by a revolutionary Movement, Devrimci Yol (Revolutionary Way), in Turkey in the late 1970s. More specifically it focuses on Devrimci Yol’s formulations concerning the issue of revolutionary organization, how it and the resistance committee experiences –within their contexts- embodied the tension between being organized in accordance with initiating change within the social relations of everyday life and being organized in accordance with a strategy of state takeover. The study argues that Devrimci Yol’s attempt towards the reconciliation of these two understandings gave the Movement its peculiarity within the left in Turkey. With all their constraints the resistance committees and accompanying experiences of people’s and workplace committees pointed out a logic of revolutionary organization different from the predominant one in which any kind of revolutionary transformation was postponed until the forthcoming revolution. When examining Devrimci Yol and the resistance committees, the study refers to different approaches to the question of revolutionary organization in Marxist theory and practice. Keywords: Revolutionary Way, resistance committees, revolutionary organization, Left in Turkey in the late 1970s iv ÖZ DİREN İŞ KOM İTELER İ: DEVR İMC İ YOL VE 1970’LER SONU TÜRK İYE’S İNDE DEVR İMC İ ÖRGÜTLENME SORUNU Bozkurt, Sümercan Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Siyaset Bilimi ve Kamu Yönetimi Ana Bilim Dalı Tez Yöneticisi. Yar. Doç. Dr. Necmi Erdo ğan Aralık 2008, 135 sayfa Bu tez Türkiye’de 1970’lerin sonunda Devrimci Yol hareketi tarafından örgütlenmi ş olan direni ş komiteleri deneyimlerini incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Daha özelde Devrimci Yol’un devrimci örgütlenme konusuna ili şkin formülasyonları ve Devrimci Yol ve direni ş komiteleri deneyimlerinin –kendi ba ğlamlarında- gündelik ya şamın toplumsal ili şkileri içinde de ğişim gerçekle ştirmek ile devlet iktidarını ele geçirme stratejisi uyarınca örgütlenmek arasındaki gerilimi bünyelerinde nasıl barındırdıkları üzerine odaklanmaktadır. Çalı şma, Devrimci Yol’un bu iki anlayı şı uzla ştırma çabasının onu Türkiye solu içinde özgün bir yere yerle ştirdi ğini iddia etmektedir. Bütün sınırlılıkları ile birlikte direni ş komiteleri ve beraberindeki halk ve i şyeri komiteleri deneyimleri her türlü devrimci dönü şümün gelecekte gerçekle ştirecek olan devrime kadar ertelendi ği hakim anlayı ştan farklı bir örgütlenme mantı ğına işaret etmi ştir. Çalı şma Devrimci Yol ve direni ş komitelerini incelerken devrimci örgütlenme sorununa dair Marxist kuram ve pratikteki farklı yakla şımlara atıfta bulunmaktadır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Devrimci Yol, direni ş komiteleri, devrimci örgütlenme, 1970’ler sonunda Türkiye solu v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank my advisor Necmi Erdo ğan for his invaluable support throughout the process. He has encouraged me at all stages of the study with numerous comments and suggestions. His openness and guidance have always motivated me. I am also greatful to Fahriye Üstüner and Pınar Bedirhano ğlu for reading the thesis closely and offering precious suggestions. Without support and unconditional love of mother, Sebiha Bozkurt, this study would not have been possible. Thank you for believing in me and for all you have done for me. I owe a lot to Ahmet Güzel for his love and encouragement. He has always positively impacted upon my life. If he did not motivate me, I could not even begin my graduate study. I also have to thank the people, who shared their stories with me during the long interviews we have made. My dear friends Zeynep Ba şak, Fırat Duru şan, Özgür Balkılıç and Umut Devrim Özbideciler provided me the encouragement and advice I need in order to complete the thesis. I am also grateful to Semra Satı ş for her technical and emotional support. Special thanks go to my best friends Albina Uluta şlı, Şule Dursun and Zeynep Öz şuca for their existence in my life. No words can describe my gratitude to Ali Rıza Güngen. I have not only received invaluable inspiration and advice, but also my life energy from him. To him I owe my deepest thanks. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM ............................................................................................iii ABSTRACT ...............................................................................................iv ÖZ .............................................................................................................. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1 2. DIFFERENT APPROACHES OF REVOLUTIONARY ORGANIZATION, STATE AND LEADERSHIP IN MARXIST THEORY .............................................. 7 2.1. Introduction ................................................................................... 7 2.2. Dictatorship of the Proletariat, Party and Soviets ........................... 10 2.2.1. The Soviets ......................................................................... 11 2.2.2. Lenin on the Party and Soviets ............................................ 13 2.3. Gramsci on Factory Councils and Modern Prince .......................... 18 2.4. Different Forms of Revolutionary Organization and the Issue of Leadership in the Third World in the Second Half of the 20 th Century ........................................... 21 2.5. Recent Debates Old Questions ...................................................... 24 2.6. Concluding Remarks...................................................................... 28 3. DEVR İMC İ YOL AND ITS ROOTS WITHIN LEFT IN TURKEY..... 31 3.1. Introduction .................................................................................. 31 3.2. The Roots of Devrimci Yol within Left in Turkey ......................... 35 3.2.1. National Democratic Revolution (MDD) Thesis on Questions of Revolutionary Organization and Power ..... 39 3.2.2. FKF/Dev-Genç: The Youth Movement, Leadership and Mass-Cadre Relations ................................................. 42 3.2.3. THKP-C on Armed Struggle and Revolutionary Organization................................................. 44 vii 3.2.3.1.Anti-Imperialism and Politicised Armed War Strategy .. 48 3.2.3.2.The Issues of Organization, Leadership Mass-Cadre Relations .................................................... 49 3.3. The Organization Inflation: Main Pillars of the Left in Turkey in the Late 1970s .......................................................... 51 3.4. Devrimci Yol and the Question of Organization ............................ 53 3.4.1. General Characteristics and the Fundemental Premises of the Movement ....................... 55 3.4.1.1. The General Organizational Scheme of the Movement ......................................................... 55 3.4.1.2. Fundamental Premises of the Movement ...................... 57 3.4.1.3. Fascism, Anti-Fascism and Organization ...................... 61 3.4.1.4. “To Create the Narrowest Cadre within the Widest Mass”: Devrimci Yol’s Understanding of Mass-Cadre Relations and Leadership........................... 65 3.4.1.5. A Movement on the Road of Becoming a Party ............ 68 3.5. Concluding Remarks ..................................................................... 70 4. THE RESISTANCE COMMITTEES.................................................... 74 4.1. The Twofold Character of the Resistance Committees and Different Roles Attached by Devrimci Yol to Them ............... 76 4.2. Resistance Against Fascism: The Resistance Committes and the Main Characteristics of the Organization in the Districts and Neighborhoods ................................................ 79 4.2.1. Anti-Fascism and the Resistance Committees ...................... 81 4.2.2. General Composition
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