CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION: A CONTESTATION OF CITIZENSHIP IN TURKEY A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY SEMİH SAPMAZ IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION SEPTEMBER 2012 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences __________________ Prof. Dr. Meliha Altunışık Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. __________________ Prof. Dr. Raşit Kaya 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. __________________ Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aslı Çırakman-Deveci Supervisor Examining Committee Members Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fahriye Üstüner (METU, ADM) _________________ Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aslı Çırakman-Deveci (METU, ADM) _________________ Assist. Prof. Dr. H. Nalan Soyarık-Şentürk (BÜ, SİBU) _________________ 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: Semih SAPMAZ Signature: iii ABSTRACT CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION: A CONTESTATION OF CITIZENSHIP IN TURKEY Sapmaz, Semih M. Sc., Department of Political Science and PuBlic Administration Supervisor: Assoc. Dr. Aslı Çırakman-Deveci SeptemBer 2012, 139 pages This thesis discusses the politics of conscientious objection in Turkey within a framework of citizenship. In this study citizenship is identified with Being political and conceived as a process comprised of acts and practices. According to this conception, while practices reproduce the discourse of citizenship in a given context, acts are the deeds that challenge this discourse. Conscription, within this framework, is defined as a citizenship practice which re/produces the militaristic, nationalistic and gendered content of the Turkish citizenship. Conscientious objection is approached as an act of citizenship that contests and challenges the estaBlished citizenship regime in the country. This challenge and contestation is presented through the interviews with the conscientious objectors and activists as well as a review of the already puBlished material By and on them. Conscientious objection challenges the citizenship regime in Turkey on three inter-related grounds: 1. It challenges and exposes the militaristic content of the discourse of citizenship in Turkey. 2. It challenges the political content of ‘Turkishness’ –that is the nationalistic content of Turkish citizenship- with particular reference to Kurdish issue; and 3. It challenges the prevailing gender roles and the values of hegemonic masculinity in Turkey. iv Keywords: Conscientious Objection, Citizenship Practice, Acts of Citizenship, Conscription, Militarism v ÖZ VİCDANİ RET: TÜRKİYE ÖRNEĞİNDE BİR VATANDAŞLIK TARTIŞMASI Sapmaz, Semih Yüksek Lisans, Siyaset Bilimi ve Kamu Yönetimi Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. Aslı Çırakman-Deveci Eylül 2012, 139 sayfa Bu tez, vatandaşlık kavramı kapsamında Türkiye’de vicdani reddin siyasetini tartışmaktadır. Bu çalışmada vatandaşlık kavramı siyasal olmakla özdeşleştirilmiş, pratik ve eylemlerden meydana gelen Bir süreç olarak tanımlanmıştır. Bu kavramsallaştırmaya göre pratikler verili Bir Bağlamdaki vatandaşlık söylemini yeniden üretiyorken, eylemler Bu söyleme meydan okuyan ve ona karşı çıkan edimler olarak tanımlanmıştır. Bu çerçevede zorunlu askerlik, Türkiye vatandaşlığının militarist, milliyetçi ve cinsiyetçi içeriğini yeniden üreten Bir vatandaşlık pratiği olarak tanımlanmıştır. Vicdani ret ise ülkedeki kurulu vatandaşlık rejimine meydan okuyan ve ona karşı çıkan Bir vatandaşlık eylemi olarak ele alınmıştır. Bu karşı çıkış ve meydan okumanın içeriğinin tartışması, vicdani retçiler ve aktivistlerle yapılan görüşmeler ile Birlikte hâlihazırda vicdani retçiler tarafından yazılmış veya onlar üzerine yayınlanmış yazı ve röportajların değerlendirmesi yoluyla yapılmıştır. Buna göre vicdani reddin Türkiye’deki vatandaşlık rejimine BirBiriyle ilişkili üç farklı zemin üzerinden meydan okuduğu sonucuna varılmıştır: 1. Vicdani ret Türkiye’deki vatandaşlık söyleminin militarist içeriğini ifşa etmekte ve ona meydan okumaktadır. 2. Özellikle Kürt meselesine değinerek ‘Türklük”ün siyasal içeriğine –yani Türkiye vatandaşlığının milliyetçi içeriğine- meydan okumaktadır. 3. Vicdani ret Türkiye’deki hâkim cinsiyet rollerine ve hegemonik erkeklik değerlerine karşı Bir meydan okumadır. vi Anahtar Kelimeler: Vicdani Ret, Vatandaşlık, Vatandaşlık Eylemleri, Zorunlu Askerlik, Militarizm vii to Kamile, Kenan and my Grandmother viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to my adviser Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aslı Çırakman-Deveci, for her guidance and patience throughout my MS study. This thesis could not Be finalized without her moral as well as academic support and encouragement. I also wish to express my gratitude to the examining committee memBers for their critique and suggestions. I am grateful to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fahriye Üstüner and Assist Prof. Dr. Nalan Soyarık- Şentürk for their critical comments and advices on this study which I have Benefited a lot. I also would like to thank each and every respondent of this study who did not hesitate to provide their support through sharing their stories and ideas. I am also grateful to Atalay Göçer, Erinç Seymen and Salih Canova who helped me in reaching my respondents and contriButed to this study through their informative comments. I would like to provide my special thanks to my friends from METU LGBTT Solidarity CluB with whom I have learned how to act and struggle together. Their contriBution has Been crucial in making my years in METU such a great experience. I am also grateful to my friends Seher, İlay, Kohei, Seven, Öykü, Soner, Erdem, Öznur, Müslüm and Elçin for sharing valuaBle times together and for Being with me throughout my academic journey. Remzi Altunpolat, my housemate, has experienced all the stress I had in the last months of the thesis. I owe many thanks to him for all his patience and understanding. ix This thesis could not Be completed without the invaluaBle support of my family. I would like to dedicate the thesis to my parents, my Brother and my grandmother who have always Been with me with their love, patience and encouragement. x TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM ....................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... iv ÖZ........................................................................................................................... vi DEDICATION ..................................................................................................... viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................... ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1 1.1 Conscientious Objection as a Phenomenon ............................................... 3 1.2 Conscientious Objectors in Turkey ............................................................ 8 1.3 Theoretical Framework of the Study: Conscientious Objectors and Citizenship ..................................................................................................... 12 2. CITIZENSHIP AND CONSCRIPTION ....................................................... 15 2.1 Citizenship as Being Political .................................................................. 15 2.1.1 Being Political ................................................................................... 17 2.1.2 What Is It to Be a ‘Citizen’?.............................................................. 19 2.1.2.1 ‘Citizenship as Status’ vs. ‘Citizenship as Practice’ .................. 19 2.1.2.2 Acts of Citizenship ..................................................................... 22 2.1.3 Citizenship and Conscientious Objection ......................................... 25 2.2 Conscription as a Citizenship Practice ..................................................... 27 2.2.1 Militarism as an Ideology and Militarization as a Process ................ 27 2.2.2 Conscription as a Militarizing and Nationalizing Citizenship Practice .................................................................................................................... 29 2.2.3 Conscription as a Gendering Practice of Citizenship ........................ 33 xi 2.3 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 36 3. CONSCRIPTION AS A CITIZENSHIP PRACTICE IN TURKEY ............ 37 3.1 Conscription as a Nationalizing and Militarizing Practice ...................... 39 3.1.1 The Ottoman Era ............................................................................... 39 3.1.2 The Military-Nation and Conscription in Modern Turkey................ 45 3.1.2.1 Formation of the “Turkishness” and the “Military-Nation” in 1930s .....................................................................................................