Nature, power and the resistance:A study on the political ecology of the struggles for the right to water in the case of Ahmetler, Güçlüköy and Gençler villages

This thesis focuses on the political ecology of power, hegemony, domination and resistance that have shaped the processes of peasant mobilization, and environmental change in contemporary Turkey. Specifically, this study examines the role of the local peasant resistances against neoliberal environmental practicses in the commodification and dispossession, democracy, globalization, and social movements processes. As neoliberal global capitalism continues to affect broader segments of the population - peasants, the unemployed, the poor, and women,-there are growing local movements by the affected populations to address the inequities engendered by the globalization process. These popular movements across the country have risen as a reaction to the consequences of the destructive operations of the global capitalist system. The study of these social movements-their nature, social base, ideology, and strategies and tactics of the struggle-is of paramount importance if we are to understand the nature of the forces that are struggling to bring about change in economy, polity, social structure and nature-society relations. This study aims to understand and develop explanations for the peasant resistance strategies against the hegemonic neoliberal nature-society restructuring. This study argues that the local peasant environmental resistances is better understood by reflecting on the social and economic, as well as environmental, impacts of neoliberalism in the country and localities over the last three and a half decades. Neoliberalism incited changes in the modus operandi of social movements as it affected all spheres of social life and nature society relations. Privatization, deregulation, and free trade exacerbated socioeconomic and environmental problems. In summary, growing human insecurity, forceful dispossessions, social and environmental exclusions, as well as poverty and inequality, as a consequence of neoliberal policies reshaped the agendas of these movements. Generally, the political and infrapolitical strategies mounted by peasant communities led the resistance and the popular movement, and in some contexts managed to halt neoliberal policy agenda of the government and capital. But these defensive resistances to neoliberal practices were localized, fragmented, and limited. The main weakness of these resistances, aside from internal divisions and a fragmented social base, was the lack of a clear and collective strategy beyond, blockades, demonstrations and site occupations. Moreover, these actions had produced mixed results, when not supported by broader sectors of civil society. Key Words: Political Ecology, Socialnature, Power–Hegemony, Domination, Peasant Resistance Strategies