Reinvigorating the Public Sphere in Turkey: The Gezi Park Social Movement

• In Event: Reinvigorating the Public Sphere in Turkey: The Gezi Park Social Movement

Abstract

The Gezi Park protests in Turkey in the summer of 2013 were different from Arab Spring demonstrations. Turkey is a predominantly Muslim country, but unlike Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia, it has been governed by a democratically elected government for most of its existence as a republic. However, it was extraordinary that people should engage in protests of the undemocratic actions of their leaders. The coming together of disparate ethnicities, groups and causes was also unusual. World Values surveys conducted over the years have found the only about 10% of its people trust one another. Yet Gezi demonstrations found Kurds, Turks, LGBT communities, senior citizens, teen-agers, Alevis, Sunnis, atheists and others united in their goal to have their voices heard. Participants also included diasporic Turks and others committed to international social change around the world. The large demonstrations in the streets of major Turkish cities ground to a halt after about a month following the brutal response by the police, using massive water cannon and tear gas attacks on their own defenseless people.

Other differences emerged from this movement—the use of all kinds of media to describe the repression and to organize forums and marches. This panel highlights those differences—the connection between the street and the use of social media; the use of humor and satire in spreading the message on and offline to mock government leaders and the mainstream media; and in the formation of a new kind of community. Context for the actual Gezi events are included in research of the negotiations over Kurdish identity and struggle for media freedom by journalists in a society where the PKK and the government have battled for decades.

No predictions are made for the ultimate outcome of the protests. They have largely disappeared from the streets, but continue on social media, in newer broadcast stations and newspapers telling the other side of the story. This panel sets the stage for discussion of the use of new and traditional media in any national social movement that uses both new and traditional media to organize and effect real global social change.

Authors

• Burce Celik, Bahcesehir U

• zden Melis Ulu and #287;, Jacobs U Bremen

• Ozden Ulug, Jacobs U Bremen

• Nevin Solak, Middle East Technical U

• Nurcay Turkoglu, Cukurova U

• Christine L. Ogan, Indiana U

• Kevin Smets, U of Antwerp - Department of Communication Studies

• Mehmet Ozan Asik, U of Cambridge