University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Open Access Dissertations 2-2011 State Hegemony and Sustainable Development: A Political Economy Analysis of Two Local Experiences in Turkey Bengi Akbulut University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/open_access_dissertations Part of the Economics Commons Recommended Citation Akbulut, Bengi, "State Hegemony and Sustainable Development: A Political Economy Analysis of Two Local Experiences in Turkey" (2011). Open Access Dissertations. 330. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/open_access_dissertations/330 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STATE HEGEMONY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: A POLITICAL ECONOMY ANALYSIS OF TWO LOCAL EXPERIENCES IN TURKEY A Dissertation Presented by BENGİ AKBULUT Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY February 2011 Economics © Copyright by Bengi Akbulut 2011 All Rights Reserved STATE HEGEMONY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: A POLITICAL ECONOMY ANALYSIS OF TWO LOCAL EXPERIENCES IN TURKEY A Dissertation Presented by BENGİ AKBULUT Approved as to style and content by: _______________________________________ James K. Boyce, Chair _______________________________________ Michael Ash, Member _______________________________________ Krista Harper, Member _______________________________________ Fuat E. Keyman, Member ____________________________________ Gerald Epstein, Department Chair Department of Economics ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people have made it possible for me to produce this piece of work and contributed in different ways to its coming into being. It is impossible to acknowledge all of them, so this is bound to be incomplete. Jim Boyce has been incredible in listening and trying to understand where I was trying to go with all this during my trial and error phase, which lasted for quite a long time. He has been patient, respectful and supportive of my attempts of finding my way, and responded in the best possible way to my demands. He has sparked the inspiration at countless instances where I thought I lost it forever, and I am infinitely grateful for that. Michael Ash and Krista Harper have always encouraged me to keep going by showing great interest in my work and lent help in all stages. Their enthusiasm has been a major driving force, especially towards the end. Finally, Fuat Keyman has kindly accepted to be a part of the dissertation committee at the last minute and kept up with all that the “last minute” implies. Fikret Adaman is the invisible hero behind these pages. He is the unofficial committee member who has painstakingly read immature sketches of many chapters and helped me to shape them up. He is the editor who has not only tirelessly went over the whole manuscript but managed to do it humorously. He is the colleague with whom I have discussed many of the ideas that found their way in this dissertation and the mentor who literally stood by me during all stages of this work. He has been a guiding light, a very dear friend, a fierce critique and a camarade. He has taught me and produced with me so much that go beyond the present work. iv I have relied on the generous financial support of Boğaziçi University and the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) in UMass, and the logistical support of FREKANS Research Company in producing this work. I am grateful to Halil Agah, Suade Arançlı and Uygar Özesmi for sharing information and helping me establish valuable connections during the intial stages of my field work. I owe a lot to my guides, Ömer in Sultan Sazlığı and Asım in Köprülü Kanyon, who indeed made the entire study possible, and looked out for my well being in every step out in the field and eased a painful process. Finally, I am indebted to all the people who have shared their stories- they are the co-authors of this dissertation. What this work signifies goes much beyond the process of writing a dissertation and extends to years spent with wonderful people in a unique department. It would not be farfetched to say that this dissertation could not have been written in any other economics department than UMass. Two professors in particular, Nancy Folbre and Steve Resnick, have contributed fundamentally to my journey towards becoming what I deem as a good economist/a critical thinker during the last 6 years. I feel lucky to have been a part of EGSO; it has been an experience that nurtured me so much, both as an inspiration and a challenge, as it concretely showed me the value in collective work towards change. A couple of people within EGSO needs to be mentioned in particular: My comrade, and first friend in the department, Rajesh stood with me in many fights, drank with me in numerous occasions, fed me with great meals and took care of me whenever I needed it. Mike Carr has been a very dear friend who listened to me patiently during our weekly lunches and pushed me to see things that I would rather skip. Being around him provided a level of comfort that I miss deeply. I had been lucky to find Jen Cohen in my v second year and enjoy her friendship (not to mention her heroic efforts of providing me with nicotine when I broke my wrist). Armağan Gezici, Phil Mellizo and Smita Ramnarain have all been invaluable outlets of both personal and academic desparation. Many outside of the department have been significant in sustaining me, and at times, my sanity. Aycan Kapucu is practically my sister and with her I started building a life in this country. She and Zeynep İnanç are the two people without whose soothing presence I would not be able to survive. The Noho-Amherst “gang” turned a foreign place into home and proved to be the strongest bond I have established with it. Ceren Soylu has been closer than almost anyone although she was an ocean away almost all the time. Knowing that she and I have a lot to write, talk, watch, discover and conquer together is one of the most strengthening feelings. Finally, my incredible circle of friends in Turkey, with whom I grew up and shared in a way that I have quite not with anyone else, has been the strongest support in my years away from the home they provide, with their unending confidence in me and unconditional caring. My parents, Ayşe and Gültekin Akbulut, are the first leftists I know. From them I have learned the value in fighting for what is just and not to give up when disheartened, when to stand still and when to be angry, when to interfere and when to be patient. They have always been eager to understand what bothered me or what excited me, and lent their very much needed –critical- support. Mert Akbulut, my brother, has grown to be my favorite ally and I cannot wait to see what awaits us in the paths we’ll walk together. This one goes out to them. vi ABSTRACT STATE HEGEMONY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: A POLITICAL ECONOMY ANALYSIS OF TWO LOCAL EXPERIENCES IN TURKEY FEBRUARY 2011 BENGİ AKBULUT, B.A., BOĞAZİÇİ UNIVERSITY M.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor James K. Boyce This dissertation examines state-society relationships in Turkey through the lens of efforts to promote sustainable development at the local level. To this end, it first lays out a theoretical framework to analyze the political economy of local sustainable development, for which purpose the Gramscian state theory and its applications to the political economy of the environment are deployed. The dissertation thus situates the local social-economic-environmental processes within the making of state hegemony and the uneven impacts of state behavior on the society. The dissertation employs two case studies, each based on extensive qualitative study and quantitative data from the administration of representative surveys to operationalize this framework. At both case study sites, Sultan Sazlığı and Köprülü Kanyon, the Turkish state made explicit efforts to implement sustainable development through projects funded by the Global Environmental Facility, but failed to do so. In analyzing the reasons for failure, the dissertation documents how the Turkish state’s hegemonic practices, interacting with local power inequalities, undercut the implementation of sustainable development. It further reveals how inequalities are perpetuated by the failure of sustainable development vii and how they, in turn, prove to be impediments on sustainable development implementation at the local level. The dissertation also provides a critical lens through which community-based schemes, including co-governance and participatory management, can be examined. It highlights, in particular, the role of local inequalities and anticipations shaped by the state by conducting an econometric study. It demonstrates the different channels through which exclusion from decision-making operates, impeding the democratic functioning of these institutions and undermining efforts to promote sustainable development. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................