Prof. Dr. Mehmet Asım Karaömerlioğlu danışmanlığındaki tezler
16 tez · Boğaziçi University
The rising racist paradigm in the Turkish Nationalism in the first decade of the 2000s: The discourse of the Kurdish invasion
This thesis looks at the discourse of the ?Kurdish invasion? within the framework of the rising racist practices in Turkish nationalism in the first decade of the 2000s. The position of the Turkish nationalism that pursed denial policy against the Kurds from early Republican era to the early 2000s has changed recently. This transformation has occurred as a result of various conditions such as the increasing possibility of the establishment of a Kurdish political authority in Northern Iraq after the American occupation, the constitutional and legal reforms in the harmonization process with the European Union, the growing Kurdish opposition, and the ongoing low- intensity war in the southeast since the beginning of the 1980s. Unlike the previous periods, the Kurdish identity has become a reality expressed in the public opinion. However, in this new period, the Kurds, who are no longer recognized as a separate ethnic group, are also coded as an element threatening the survival of the Republic of Turkey. The claim that the Kurdish population has been increasing more than the Turkish population and the belief that it is a conscious invasion policy have contributed to the resurgence of the perception of threat among the Turks. A number of columnists, the Türksolu Dergisi(The Journal of Turkish Left) and Türkçü Toplumcu Budun Derneği(The Association of Turkist- Socialist Nation)which adopted the discourse of ?Kurdish invasion? have utilized these claims as an argument in order to legitimize their racist discourse. Therefore, the perception of threat created on the basis of the Kurdish population increase has prepared the ground for the reinforcement of an increase in racism that problematizes the Kurdish presence.
Türk dış politikasında fikirlerin rolü: AKP-Davutoğlu paradigması ve 2002 yılından sonraki rolü
This dissertation posits that ideas had a role in explaining change in Turkish foreign policy during the Justice and Development Party (JDP) era. It is argued this ideational change not only altered policy goals and instruments, but also the nature of Turkish foreign policy as a whole. The assumption is that the political flux and the government's political choice gave leeway to Davutoğlu's ideas to embody the emergent JDP- Davutoğlu paradigm. A twofold theoretical framework is applied first to extract the role of ideas, second to depict the paradigmatic change. To that end, the dissertation brings in the traditional bureaucratic paradigm as a null hypothesis, which has survived the post-Cold War era through a laborious process of adjustment and overcoming anomalies under bureaucratic stewardship. Early on, the JDP developed a dual approach in foreign policy, embracing status quo and change at the same time. This was seen both as a secure and expedient way to build a power base for the incumbent government. The JDP's early term accommodationist approach went hand-in-hand with an urgent need for new ideas to realize its self-declared transformative agenda. Davutoğlu's ideas supplied this demand, which later on laid the groundwork for a gradual paradigmatic shift. The emerging paradigm got steam under the JDP's political aegis. When Davutoğlu was appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the JDP-Davutoğlu paradigm has already been operative. His appointment essentially pointed to a move towards its institutionalization. Yet this was not merely a "Davutoğlu affair." It also reflected political, bureaucratic and institutional changes within the Turkish polity. Despite growing anomalies, the overall response of Turkish foreign policy to the regional upheaval after 2011 has been shaped by adjustments within the parameters of the evolving paradigm.
The transformation of agricultural structures through government policies in Edirne province between 1939 and 1960
This thesis aims to deal with the period from the Second World War to the beginning of the 1960s, and analyze the transformation of agricultural structures in Edirne, a border province, which was situated near a battle fields and was an agricultural province due to its large size of fertile and irrigable lands. Similarly, this study analyses the agricultural transformations with the Second World War and the Marshall Plan that supervened. The thesis takes into consideration of the historical conditions of the time, international developments, and the domestic policy of Turkey and the geographical position of Edirne province. Edirne province has borders with both Greece and Bulgaria was influenced by the foreign policy of Turkish Republic. This influenced the socio-economic life of Edirne province. In this sense, the agricultural transformation of Edirne provinces and its socio-economic life indicates to what extent the government policies were influential in the agricultural sector. This thesis aims to explain the influence of historical conditions, agricultural politics and social life; and it emphasizes geographic features, the relations of production, and more importantly the roles of peasants in crop preferences and active participation in production process. Due to its proximity to Istanbul and Europe, the flat land structure, the Thracian People's demands for economic development government policies were influential. Edirne was a border province that experienced much more economic poverty than the average of Turkey during Second World War. Besides, Edirne was agricultural province which entered into a process of economic development with the commodification of agricultural structures and market oriented production and the Marshall Plan. As for the state, just as this thesis study aims to explain the transformation of agriculture in Edirne and its social influence, it highlights the agricultural transformation of Edirne province which reflected the developmental process of Turkish agriculture by taking into consideration of statistical comparisons with the average of Turkey.
The fragmentation of Alevilik as exemplified in the case of Gazi Mahallesi: Three Cemevis, three free spaces
This thesis scrutinizes the fragmentation of Alevilik as exemplified in the case of Gazi Mahallesi and three Cemevis. From a larger perspective, the Alevis have organized their own identity movement after the 1980s which has a fragmented characteristic. Cemevis have emerged as a result of this fragmented movement within the same fragmented characteristic. The 1990s are significant date for appearance of Cemevis in public sphere, and the thesis analyze the fragmented characteristic of Alevilik over Cemevis. In this regard, Gazi Mahallesi was chosen to conduct fieldwork. Existence of three Cemevis in the neighbourhood which addressed the fragmented characteristic of Alevilik was investigated as a case study. However, the reason of Gazi's unique situation required analyze the Cemevis within the framework of "free spaces". Therefore, It argues existence of three Cemevis in the neighbourhood indicates the fragmented characteristic of Alevilik. However, their ways of construction were intrinsic to the neighbourhood which caused to analyze as free spaces. This study involves extensive review of the current literature on Alevilik, and analysis of the many conversations and 20 in-depth interviews conducted by using participant observation method in Gazi Mahallesi and there Cemevis as well. Namely, this study aims to present the fragmented characteristic over three Cemevis in Gazi Mahallesi and its unique position as well.
Exploring generation Y via attitudes towards economy, education and marriage
This thesis analyzes Turkish Generation Y, which has been scrutinizing recently in terms of economy, education, and marriage, and also in comparison between its European and American counterparts. The research is based on the thought that political and social events affected and changed this generations' attitudes. In Turkey the Generation Y includes individuals born between 1980 and 1994. To explain the historical background of the term generation, Karl Mannheim and Jose Ortega y Gasset's generation theories were used. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with students and graduate students from Koç, Marmara, and İstanbul Universities. To understand the impact of economic background on ones' attitudes, one of the universities was selected among private universities. Instead of collecting statistical data, the main aim was to understand Turkish Generation Y. Also the four major generations from 1925 to 1994, namely, Silent, Baby Boomer, Generation X and Generation Y in Europe, America, and Turkey were explained in terms of economy, education, working life, family, technology and marriage. The study consists of Generation Y members who are living in İstanbul and graduate from university, therefore, instead of general conclusions, personal expressions were provided.
Tek parti döneminde siyasi propaganda (1931- 1946)
This dissertation is about the political propaganda activities of the Turkish state during the Single-Party Regime. The purpose of this study is to draw the wide picture of the perception and organization of propa-ganda during early Republican period, including all elements that could be researched under the title of "the single party" and "propaganda". This dissertation categorizes propaganda conducted by the single party between 1931 and 1946 in two, as "Revolution Propaganda" and "War Era Propaganda" and examines the content of domestic and foreign propaganda, its reference points, its mediums and channels in both periods. In 1931 after all opposition was quieted and with the concentrated activities in organization a new era had started; institutions and me-diums of propaganda were further established in this period. However, the Second World War has been a game changer, thus the discourse of propaganda changed as well. While "Revolution Propaganda" was mainly based on Six Arrows, "War Era Propaganda" exploited features of patriotism and nationalism. In both periods, Matbuat Umum Müdürlüğü (Directorate General of the Press), one of the first institutions of the history of Republic was the official state institution responsible of prop-aganda. Propaganda through cinema, one of the most important medi-ums of propaganda of the period, has been evaluated as a microcosmos where colorful examples of the relation between the state and its partners and state's discourse can be seen.
Dil, iktidar ve kimlik: Günümüz Türkiye'sinde iki dilli Kürtlerin deneyimleri
This thesis aims to examine the language ideologies encountered by Kurdish and Turkish bilingual university students in Turkey in their daily interactions within the framework of language and power dynamics. Although assumptions, thoughts, and beliefs about languages are attributed to linguistic realities, they are actually based on ideological foundations shaped by historical and political processes. This study investigates how accents and other linguistic features or the language itself are perceived by Turkish-speaking interlocutors through the experiences of students who started living in cities where Turkish is predominantly spoken to pursue higher education. The impacts of these experiences on the daily lives of Kurdish students and the role of language in identity construction are also discussed in relation to language ideologies and language and power relations. Findings from semi-structured interviews reveal that perceived discrimination and feelings of inadequacy related to language influence attitudes towards languages and identity negotiation processes.
Idealist Movement in the East: An overview of the activities of the idealist Movement regarding Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia between 1965 and 1980
This thesis examines the activities of the idealist movement regarding Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia and its strengthening in these two regions between 1965, when Alparslan Türkeş became the head of CKMP, and 1980 by focusing on the participation in the idealist movement from these two regions and the movement's success in the 1977 local elections in Eastern Anatolia. The research traces the organizational efforts of the movement in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia since the late 1960s and focuses on the questions of to what extent the party was able to find a response in these two regions as a result of these efforts and for which reasons this response emerged. In addition to these two questions, it was also aimed to examine the perspectives of the people from Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia who participated in the movement during this period on the uprisings that broke out in these two regions during the Early Republican Period and their perceptions of ethnicity. In addition to primary sources such as various memoirs, Hergün newspaper, local newspapers of the period, and books published by publishing houses close to the movement, semi-structured interviews with people from Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia who participated in the movement were also used as sources. As a result of this study, three main conclusions were reached. First, the MHP and the idealist movement as a whole generally achieved results above their national average in these two regions in the elections from 1965 to 1977, especially in the 1977 local elections, due to the "understanding of Turkishness without ethnic discrimination" adopted by the movement during these years and the perception of the idealist movement as the most influential political movement against communism at a time when communism was perceived as anti-religious by the public. Secondly, it was observed that teachers with nationalist political views and the organization of these teachers under Ülkü-Bir in the following years significantly impacted the participation in the movement from these two regions during these fifteen years. Finally, when it came to the 1977 local elections, it was observed that while the movement had made significant progress in Eastern Anatolia, in Southeastern Anatolia, it had fallen behind its performance in previous years.
Negotiating tradition and change: Sephardi Jewish life cycle practices in istanbul (1960 - 2020)
This dissertation examines how life cycle rituals—namely Brit Milah, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, and Jewish weddings—have transformed in meaning, form, and function within Istanbul's Sephardi Jewish community between the 1960s and 2020. Framing these events as a "field" in the Bourdieusian sense, the study investigates how ethno-religious cultural and communal identity is co-produced through the interaction of three key agents: religious authorities, Jewish-owned event companies, and community members themselves. Drawing on over forty interviews, archival research, and participant observation, the study reveals how these rituals are shaped by competing forms of capital (economic, cultural, symbolic), and how different actors strategically deploy these resources to influence the definition of "proper" and "ideal" Jewishness. While religious authorities emphasize continuity and modesty (Kayadez), companies introduce global trends and market sensibilities, and community members negotiate visibility, belonging, habitus, and status within a shifting socio-political landscape. Special attention is given to how rituals reflect broader dynamics, such as antisemitism, gendered expectations, and class dynamics, in connection with the transformation of communal infrastructure. Life cycle events emerge not merely as religious traditions but as dynamic arenas where power, identity, and representation are continuously negotiated.
Women and the new conservative family: paternalism, identity and value change
This thesis aims to reveal how family values have undergone social transformation by examining the process of identity construction and family life of upper middle class conservative women in the face of paternalistic practices towards the creation of a contemporary ideal family. It addresses the family not as a tool used by the state to control society or as a means of reproduction, but as one of the links of the power network that constructs the social structure. Within the scope of this thesis, the attitudes of women, who are ideally positioned within the family, towards the paternalistic approach and the tactics they produce in everyday life are analyzed. As a result of in-depth interviews conducted with upper middle-class women in Istanbul, the family was analyzed as a three-layered structure in terms of the formation, transformation, and transmission of values as a realm of necessities, a realm of possibilities, and a future project. As a result of the research, it has been revealed that conservative women, who perpetuate the values they received from the family they grew up in and transmit them through their children, are not docile objects of paternalism, but active subjects of social transformation through their everyday life decisions.
Turkey, China and the Silk Road of energy: The Trans-Anatolian natural gas pipeline
This thesis analyzes the motives behind involvement of Turkey and China in the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP). Referred as the Silk Road of Energy, TANAP is a fundamental section of Southern Gas Corridor which is an international new route for diversifying energy sources of Europe. TANAP is a recently constructed pipeline crossing Turkey and will carry 16 bcm of natural gas of Azerbaijan delivered from Shah Deniz 2 field, 6 bcm of which will be consumed in Turkish national market and the rest will be transferred to Europe. As an international project, TANAP received loans from various institutions, while World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) are co-financing the project. As a newly established institution spear-headed by China in 2015, AIIB aims to support infrastructure development in Asia, while TANAP is a section of a new energy route benefiting Europe, which is not directly within the spectrum of AIIB. Even though not directly involved, China imposes a role in TANAP through AIIB. The involvement of China through the loan provided by AIIB implies China's interest in this new energy route and is a subtle cooperation between Turkey and China on future energy relations. On the other hand, TANAP is a significant part of Turkey's aim to become an energy hub and highlights Turkey's strategic position between Asia and Europe while complimenting Turkey's energy security. The motives of Turkey are both strategic and energy security based while China has only strategic motives in involving in TANAP.
Günümüz Türkiye'sinde Osmanlı geçmişinin siyasi amaçlarla kullanıl-ması: 'Diriliş: Ertuğrul' örneği
The Ottoman past of Turkey has always been a source of nostalgia in Turkish political history. In contemporary Turkey, the use of the Otto-man past goes beyond nostalgia and has become the central feature of neo-Ottomanism. As an ideology of adopting Turkey's political and cul-tural Ottoman legacy, the concept of neo-Ottomanism was first used during the Turgut Özal period and has been revived under the rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). The objective of this research is to find out the characteristics of contemporary neo-Ottomanism. A television series about the father of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, "Diriliş Ertuğrul", is analyzed in pursuit of this objective. Because the series is aired on a television channel of the state-owned Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) and is explicitly endorsed by the political elite, it represents neo-Ottomanism as a political ideology. As a result of the analysis of contemporary mass media in Turkey, it can be said that neo-Ottomanism which is represented in "Diriliş Er-tuğrul", imagines a morally superior Turkish-Islamic nation and regards Turkey as a great power that protects the Islamic World.
A social history of rice in Turkey
This dissertation examines the transformation of rice farming before the state, the society, and the economy in Turkey between 1948 and 2018. Rice is one of the most important fields of application of the Green Revolution after the Marshall Plan is examined from a spatial point of view in three basins such as the Meriç Basin, the Lower Kızılırmak-Lower Yeşilırmak Basins and Karacadağ Agricultural Basin. Both the geographical locations of these basins in Turkey and the differences in their agricultural structures and human capital are determinative in their preference as a field study. However, apart from these basins, there has been rice farming culture in South Marmara, Adana, West and Central Black Sea sub regions. In other words, this dissertation both explains the story of agricultural transformation in a historical process and presents a comparative perspective among these basins on a spatial scale. Therefore, this study can be evaluated in the fields of economic history, social history and environmental history. The main claim of this dissertation is to prove that thanks to the biological and agricultural properties of rice, it is a historical actor that directs the state, society, and the economy. On this basis, this study is far from putting sharp boundaries between nature and society and the anthropocentric historiog-raphy. In this context, this study examines the subject by putting the reciprocal relations and interests between the desires of human beings and the biological and agricultural requirement of rice into the center. The main purpose of this study is to explain the bureaucratic, economic and social networks of rice from its cultivation and harvest to its processing in to paddy and consumption. The main findings of this dissertation are that rice is a social, cultural, economic, artistic and bureaucratic commodity. In this context, rice requires specialized and intensive labor to collaborate with society, the state and mar-ket actors to be able to spread and carry its genes into the future. Besides, acquisition, nutrition and profit underlie in the desire of a human being toward rice. To sum up rice with one word, it can be conceptualized as the crop of controversies. As a matter of fact, it is too difficult to find any other crop that accommodates collaboration and conflict of interest and also the bureaucratic control in the cultivation of rice and free market economy in the sale of rice at the same time.
The institutional history of the Ottoman Public Debt Administration (1881-1914)
By focusing on the Ottoman Public Debt Administration (OPDA) this dis-sertation provides an original and comprehensive account of the Ottoman Empire and how it navigated one of its most turbulent and eventually de-structive financial periods in the late 19th century. Starting from the pre-OPDA context and navigating the institution's fifty-year-old existence, the dissertation shows the complex and contingent nature of this institution co-constituted by various key actors such as international bondholders, foreign governments, and Ottoman bureaucracy. The dissertation shows this com-plex and context-bound structure of OPDA in two main ways. First it focus-es on the pre-Muharrem context and the developments that lead to the es-tablishment of OPDA. Constituting the first two chapters, this section argues how OPDA was neither a unilinear imposition of foreign powers or financial elites nor a historical inevitability. The dissertation then goes on to detail the semi-autonomous structure and functioning of the institution to show how it was integrated into the Ottoman governmental structure as opposed to being an external institution with complete control by international bond-holders. Lastly, the salt monopoly is examined as a key revenue generating institution as part of OPDA's key mission; it is also examined as a flawed and limited institution with implications for the empire and its financial depend-ency and sovereignty.
Pozitivist düşüncenin Kemalizm'deki yeri ve karakteri: Eskişehir Şeker Fabrikası örneği üzerinden bir değerlendirme
In this thesis, the relationship between Kemalism, the founding movement of the Republic of Turkey, and the positivist thought that is prevalent in its discourses is questioned. What is expressed here with Kemalism is the mental world of its founder Atatürk and its reflection. The evaluation in this study, unlike many studies in the field, is made by focusing on actions and positioning discourses as complementary elements. In this sense, the example chosen is the actions around the Eskişehir Sugar Factory, which was seriously valued by the government and had contact with many areas of life in the 1930s, the period when Kemalism could realize its ideals relatively most freely. The main test of the evaluation is to evaluate the structure of Kemalism's relationship with positivism on the axis of establishing an organic or pragmatic bond. Thus, Kemalism, a political movement that managed to come to power, is questioned by focusing on its actions, as it should be. Discourses are not excluded but take their place in the evaluation as a complementary element. Thus, discourses are verified through actions. In addition, geographical and climatic factors also contribute to the research through the detailed data provided. In addition, the effects of internal power struggles within the CHP administration on the government's business style are among the factors examined.
1970'lerde Türkiye'de Kürtler ve sol: Bir "gezgin teori" olarak emperyalizm
This thesis explores the intellectual and political framework of Rizgari, a socialist journal collective active in Turkey during the 1970s. Positioned at the intersection of the Kurdish political movement and the socialist tradition, Rizgari developed a distinctive conceptual approach shaped by both local dynamics and global theoretical debates. The study focuses in particular on the group's interpretation of sub-imperialism, a concept introduced by Ruy Mauro Marini. Rather than adopting it directly, Rizgari adapted this concept to analyze Turkey's regional role and its relationship with Western powers. In parallel, the group proposed a critical perspective on the administrative, cultural, and economic practices implemented in Kurdish-populated areas, which they viewed as mechanisms of control and integration. The thesis uses Edward Said's notion of "traveling theory" to trace how certain theoretical tools are reshaped through different historical and political contexts. By analyzing selected publications of Rizgari, the study aims to contribute to the understanding of how global leftist and anti-systemic ideas were received, reinterpreted, and localized by political actors operating in Turkey during a transformative decade.