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The Gezi Park Movement: Forming of a New Political Opposition in Turkey?

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The Gezi Park Movement: Forming of a New Political Opposition in Turkey? PECOB’S N: 978 - 88 96951-21-7 VOLUMES B IS The Gezi Park Movement: Forming of a New Political Opposition in Turkey? Marija Krstic Drasko Master of Arts MIREES Interdisciplinary Research and Studies on Eastern Europe AWARDED MASTER THesis in collaboration with Portal on Central Eastern and Balkan Europe University of Bologna - Forlì Campus www.pecob.eu PECOB’S VOLUME: SELECTED MIREES MASTER THESES ____________________________________________________________________________________ The initiative of: University of Bologna, Vytautas Magnus at Kaunas, Corvinus of Budapest and St. Petersburg State Uni- versity, together with University of Ljubljana and University of Zagreb In collaboration with: MIREES Alumni International Association (MAiA) Institute for Central-Eastern and Balkan Europe (IECOB) Selection coordinated by: MIREES Faculty Academic Council Editorial coordination by: Prof. Francesco Privitera, MIREES Programme Director Adriano Remiddi, President of the MAiA Executive Board Giovanni Cadioli, MAiA Editorial Manager Luciana Moretti, IECOB Editorial Assistant The Gezi Park Movement: Forming of a New Political Opposition in Turkey? Marija Krstic Drasko Master of Arts MIREES Interdisciplinary Research and Studies on Eastern Europe Awarded Master thesis in A Film Journey Through Former Yugoslavia and its Demise Supervisor Prof. Ana Devic Academic Year 2012/2013 September session FOREWORD The International Master in Interdisciplinary Research and Studies on Easter Europe (MIREES) was launched in 2004 at the School of Political Sciences-Forlì Campus in cooperation with Europe and the Balkans International Network (EBIN). In 2008 it developed as a second cycle degree program, which currently delivers a joint MA awarded by the four full partner Universities of Bologna, Vytautas Magnus at Kaunas, Corvinus of Budapest and St. Petersburg State University, together with the universities of Ljubljana and Zagreb. The program is carried out with the additional support of the associate partners, as the MIREES International Alumni Association (MAiA), the Institute of East-Central and Balkan Europe (IECOB) in Forlì, the NATO Centre of Excellence for Energy Security in Vilnius, and the Institute for Democracy ‘Societas Civilis’- IDSCS - in Skopje, and more recently enjoys the cooperation with the Visegrad Fund. MIREES is an innovative graduate programme focusing on interdisciplinary and in-depth study of the post- socialist Countries in transition, the new EU member States, as well as the New East-European Neighbor Countries. Providing courses in history, politics, economics as well as cultural and anthropological studies, MIREES stimulates multifaceted approaches to the study of Central, Eastern and Southern Europe. The program combines an academic approach with mobility in one of the partner Universities and professional training pursuing the goal of forging potential insightful consultants, analysts or managers, to become area experts for international agencies, public administrations, private and public companies, and NGOs, while also offering a solid basis for further academic studies at the PhD level. MIREES graduates who successfully defended a thesis deemed of a commendable standard are awarded the possibility to publish their research on the Portal for Central-Eastern and Balkan Europe (PECOB). The peer review and publication of the selected MA theses is carried out through a cooperation between MIREES, MAiA and IECOB which resulted in a set of MIREES/MAiA Volumes published by PECOB with ISBN code. Remarkable and diverse academic works, truly representative of MIREES’ intrinsic interdisciplinary and multifaceted approach are made available through such cooperation. These innovative, in-depth and insightfully drafted analyses testify the authors’ dedication and MIREES’ competence in training outstanding researchers and analysts. All members of the MIREES, MAiA and IECOB network congratulate the authors on their achievements. Prof. Francesco Privitera Adriano Remiddi Giovanni Cadioli Programme Director, President of the Executive Board, Editorial Coordinator, MIREES International Degree MIREES Alumni International MIREES Alumni International Programme Association Association Table of Contents Introduction: Background and Structure ............................................ 9 Theoretical and Conceptual Frames .................................................... 17 Classical Approach to Social Movements .................................... 19 Post-1960s Theoretical Approaches ............................................ 21 Political-Process Theory ...................................................... 23 Resource-Mobilization Approach ....................................... 24 New Social Movement Theories ......................................... 27 The Theoretical Context of the Gezi Park Movement .................. 30 Methodology ....................................................................................... 35 Motives and the Choice of the Methodological Approach ...... 35 Primary Research Method and Choosing the Right Sample .... 36 Conducting the Interviews .................................................. 38 Research Obstacles ............................................................. 39 Transcription of the Interviews ............................................ 40 Secondary Research Methods ............................................. 40 Conclusion ........................................................................... 40 The Gezi Park Movementand. The Democratization of Turkish Society ..... 43 Grievances and Authority ............................................................ 44 First Reaction ....................................................................... 44 Sources of Grievances ......................................................... 48 Authority ............................................................................. 55 The Formation and Internal Dynamics of the Gezi Park Movement .. 59 The Role of the Social Media ................................................ 59 The Culture of the Gezi Park Movement .............................. 60 Changing of Tactics ............................................................... 64 Impact of the Gezi Park Movement on Turkish (Civil) Society ...... 68 The Self-Limiting Radicalism of the Gezi Park Actors ............ 68 Politicization of the Actors and the Rise of Civil Society ....... 72 Forming of a New Political Opposition? ................................ 76 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 79 Bibliography ........................................................................................... 83 Appendix ................................................................................................ 89 Author’s Biography ................................................................................. 93 THE GEZI PARK MOVEMENT: FORMING OF A NEW POLITICAL OPPOSITION IN TURKEY? 9 Introduction: Background and Structure A tree dies, a nation wakes up ─ Nâzım Hikmet On May 28, 2013, a relatively small group of people, a few dozen of them, gathered in Gezi Park – a medium-sized park in the center of Istanbul adjacent to Taksim – the main city square. They were mainly young people, most of them environmentalists, who were concerned about the park’s destiny since it was supposed to be demolished as a part of the new reconstruction project of Taksim Square and its surroundings. They organized sponta- neously a sit-in protest and even set up the tents in order to prevent the bulldozers uprooting the trees. The protest was completely peaceful, hidden among the trees and thus impercepti- ble from the outside of the park. Moreover, it was not covered at all by the media, so people who would walk along Taksim Square – in the immediate vicinity to the park – would not notice that anything unusual was going on there. Gezi Park was treated to be demolished so to free the space for the construction of the replica of old Ottoman barracks built in the be- ginning of the 19th century by sultan Selim the Third. And also the shopping mall was sup- posed to be placed within the barracks. From the view of an outsider, there is nothing wrong with the reconstruction of Taksim. Generally speaking, it is a huge and quite ugly, crowded square overwhelmed by buses and taxicabs, surrounded by shops and fast-food restaurants. Even Gezi Park itself does not come to the fore, although it is located next to the square it- self, given that it is hidden behind the stairs leading to its entrance. So, why then it should not be reconstructed as it was planned – as a pedestrian zone, with the new mosque, shop- ping mall, and tunnels to put the traffic underground? Well, there are several reasons why this project was controversial. First of all, there is this symbolic importance of Taksim square since the Ottoman time. It is not just a city square or a public space, but also the space of power struggle and the struggle for meanings. It is the main spot for expressing the public discontent, where all pre- vious protests and political conflicts took place. During Atatürk’s Republican People’s Par- ty’s (CHP) rule, old Ottoman barracks were demolished and Gezi Park was constructed in- stead as an urban symbol of a new Republican elite. Today, pro-religion1 Justice and Devel- opment Party (AKP), led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, wants to leave its own mark by rebuilding Oriental style Ottoman barracks
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