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Archived Theses
Türkiye-lübnan ilişkilerinin politik ekonomik incelenmesi: Yeni bölgeselcilik ve Şamgen Projesi
This thesis examines the political and economic relations between Turkey and Lebanon through the lens of new regionalism and the Shamgen Project (2009-2011). It scrutinizes the establishment and subsequent developments of the Shamgen Project, which emerged as a pivotal initiative aimed at fostering trade, cultural exchange, and political cooperation among Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. This initiative was conceived within the context of the evolving Turkish foreign policy framework that followed the end of the Cold War and the widespread adoption of neoliberal policies. Despite the limited successes of the Shamgen Project, the initiative provided significant insights into the dynamics of new regionalism in the Middle East. This study explores the business and cultural ties between Turkey and Lebanon during and after the Shamgen Project, situating this analysis within the political motivations of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) era and the processes of regionalism. The ob jective of this thesis is to reveal the impact of the interplay between political events, business, and cultural ties on regional cooperation and economic relations, thereby contributing to the scholarly discourse on new regionalism.
Afetler ve diplomasi: Çatışma ve işbirliği arasında Türkiye ve Suriye
This thesis examines how disasters, such as the 2023 earthquakes, and geopolitical challenges, like water disputes, influence Türkiye's foreign policy with Syria through the framework ofdisaster diplomacy. Focusing on the post-2021 period, when efforts were made to facilitate constructive changes in bilateral relations, the study investigates how natural disasters and transboundary resource issues can serve as catalysts for dialogue and cooperation. Over the past three decades, the relationship between these two neighboring states has been marked by a highly politicized environment, shaped by unresolved historical disputes and various attempts at rapprochement. In a world increasingly exposed to both natural catastrophes and geopolitical challenges, the role of shared disasters and resources in Türkiye-Syria relations remains underexplored. This thesis analyzes the 2023 twin earthquakes as a disaster with the potential to transcend political barriers and foster goodwill, while examining water disputes as a dualistic factor of conflict and cooperation. Employing a disaster diplomacy framework and drawing on the data collected in the newspapers, policy analyses and historical accounts, this thesis argues that disasters and shared resource challenges can serve as powerful catalysts for diplomatic engagement. However, their impact is contingent upon broader geopolitical tensions, historical grievances, and the prevailing political context.
Darağacının ardında: Türkiye'de idam cezası, hukuk ve yasama performansı (1926-1990)
This dissertation examines how the death penalty's legal framework and the practice of deciding on executions operated within Turkey's parliamentary era. The legislature, vested with broad power ranging from enacting capital laws to granting amnesty, played a central role in the operation of the death penalty while these laws were in effect. Analysis of parliamentary processes reveals that the death penalty functions as a distraction beyond the criminal and legal boundaries. Actors partly responsible for shaping, tolerating, or ignoring the normative order enabling crime, or for the legal inertia that fails to prevent it, deflect attention by emphasizing brutal death penalty de-bates, thus concealing or shifting their responsibility. Three notable parliamentary practices emerged. First, interpretations of death penalty legislation created a myth of monsters deserving death, which over-individualizes crime and deflects responsibility onto others. Second, the legislature acted in si-lence, presenting itself not as a decisive authority but as a mere cog in a ma-chine. Indeed, 80.6% of individual death sentences were processed without parliamentary debate, and for thirty-five years, none were placed on the agenda. Political elites, neither accepting nor rejecting executions, strategically preserve the death penalty laws by leveraging its capacity to absorb every debate into its moral sphere. Third, the death penalty's legal existence hid individual responsibility by portraying victim as abstract entity – the state or nation. It obscured how and why those positioned at the fringes or in opposition to the socio-political order were placed there in the first place, by designating them as the other.
Hijyenin politikası: Geç Osmanlı İstanbulu'nda halk sağlığı ve kentsel dönüşüm
Bu tez, geç dönem Osmanlı İstanbulu'nda hijyen, kentsel dönüşüm ve yönetişim arasındaki etkileşimi inceleyerek sağlık, çevre ve altyapının kesişimine ışık tutmayı amaçlar. Kir, hastalık ve temizlik kavramlarının İstanbul'un değişen kentsel dokusu, altyapısı ve kent reformlarını nasıl şekillendirdiğini ve bunlar tarafından nasıl şekillendirildiğini araştırır. Gıda, su, kanalizasyon ve defin uygulamaları olmak üzere dört temel unsura odaklanan araştırma, Osmanlı Devleti'nin deneyimlediği halk sağlığı krizlerinin kentsel mekânları hijyenik bir mercekle yeniden kurgulamada nasıl araçsallaştırıldığını ve bu sürecin toplumsal ilişkilere nasıl eklemlendiğni sorgular. Osmanlı arşiv belgelerine, tıbbi risalelere, ölüm ve sağlık istatistiklerine dayanan çalışma, İstanbul'un kendine özgü coğrafyası ve sosyo-politik dinamikleriyle yerelleştirilen küresel hijyen söylemleri ile gündelik gerçeklikler arasındaki etkileşimi araştırır. Kentsel çevre tarihi ve hastalıkların sosyal tarihi yaklaşımlarını bütünleştiren tez, konvansiyonel devlet merkezli yaklaşımların ötesine geçerek, çeşitli aktörlerin halk sağlığı politikalarını müzakere etmedeki failliğini vurgular. Araştırma, İstanbul'u "hijyenik bir kente" dönüştürme çabasının ne doğrusal ne de tekdüze olduğunu; direniş, adaptasyon ve çekişmelerle şekillenen bir süreç olduğunu öne sürer. Çalışma, çevre ve kent incelemeleri arasında köprü kurarak Osmanlı tarih yazımına katkıda bulunmayı ve halk sağlığı politikalarının İmparatorluğun son yüzyılında kentsel yaşam, yönetişim ve yapılı çevre arasındaki ilişkiye nasıl aracılık ettiğine dair yeni içgörüler sunar.
Türkiye'de temiz su ve kanalizasyon sistemleri 1880-1980
This thesis examines the historical development of clean water and sewage systems within the current borders of Türkiye from 1880 to 1980, emphasizing the critical role of these infrastructures in public health. Although access to clean water and sewage systems is essential to protect public health, these services are unevenly distributed, especially in developing countries with limited economic capacity. From a macro perspective, this study provides the progression of these sanitation systems and investigates socioeconomic disparities in access to these infrastructures at regional, urban, and intra-urban levels in Türkiye. This dissertation analyzes the clean water and sewage systems in Türkiye in two periods. The first period deals with the transition of these systems from the Ottoman Empire to the early Republican era, covering the late nineteenth century until 1950. During this time, infrastructure investments shifted from an urban focus to a national scale, facilitated by legal regulations. The second period, from 1950 to 1980, focused on investments aimed at addressing regional, urban, and intra-urban inequalities in access to water and sewage infrastructure within the framework of national development policies. The findings indicate a hierarchical prioritization of investments, with clean water infrastructure taking precedence over sewage infrastructure. Additionally, the study reveals that the multivocality of institutions and state capacity influenced infrastructure investments. Regional, urban, and rural disparities in access to these sanitation infrastructures were observed, with western regions—affected by urbanization and industrialization—having relatively greater access than other areas. These findings enhance our understanding of the roots of infrastructure access inequalities and offer valuable insights into their long-term implications.
'68 hareketinden '71 kopuşuna: Türkiye'de öğrenci eylemlerinin dönüşümü
This thesis analyses the student movement in Turkey between 1968 and 1971 and the transformation of the protest repertoire. In 1968, the student protests that began in Europe and the United States were also reflected in Turkey. The thesis aims to reveal the difference of the Turkey's '68 movement from the Western '68 movement, the emergence of unique student organizations and the multidimensional transformation of the student movement's repertoire of actions until the '71 rupture. Focusing on the leading universities of the country, Middle East Technical University, Istanbul Technical University, and Istanbul University, the thesis examines the Federation of Idea Clubs, Dev-Genç, Socialist Idea Club, and Revolutionary Student Union, which were the main student organizations. It explains how the student leaders of these organizations transformed the movement in ideological and practical terms.
Osmanlı Düyûn-ı Umumiye İdaresi'nin kurumsal tarihi (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.
Çeperden imparatorluklar: Osmanlı İmparatorluğu ve Avusturya-Macaristan İmparatorluğu arasında Bosnalı müslüman göçmenler, 1878-1918
This dissertation focuses on the Bosnian Muslim return migration from the Ottoman Empire to the Austro-Hungarian occupied Bosnia-Herzegovina between 1878 and 1918. The emigrants returned to Bosnia following their migration to Ottoman Empire. Initial emigration was a response to Austro-Hungarian policies and practices as conscription, land reform, and the mar-ginalization of Islamic institutions and everyday life. In Ottoman territories, emigrants encountered unfavorable economic conditions and political insta-bility. As a structural process, the decision of return shaped the political and economic milieu in the Ottoman Empire and Bosnia. The reintegration of returnees and how they navigated the complex Austro-Hungarian bureau-cratic governance and the hardships of everyday life constitute the core of this dissertation. The context they returned to was a thoroughly transformed one with altered legal framework and property regime. Returnees sought to adapt to new context and played a key role in the reconstruction of Bosnian Muslim identity. This dissertation argues that return migration is not an occasional incident, but a constitutive element of migratory processes in the imperial contexts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Muslims in bor-derland regions established strategies to navigate imperial politics, religious identity, and the pressures of modernity. Returnees were transformative agents, and their impact in their communities were substantial. The study employs a wide range of primary sources which include archival records of seven different countries, as well as petitions and consular reports.
Kenti doyurmak: Geç Osmanlı'dan Erken Cumhuriyet'e İstanbul'da tarım ve kentsel değişim
This study examines Istanbul's urban agricultural system, which has been almost completely erased from the city's life and memory, and its transformation from a social, economic, and environmental perspec-tives. As a first step, the study focuses on market gardens and exam-ines the role of these agricultural units in supplying the city and their place in the urban metabolism at a time when transportation facilities were limited. After presenting a multidimensional picture of the city's ongoing agricultural system, the dissertation focuses on two periods that were crucial to its transformation: the late Ottoman and early Re-publican periods. The two main themes that link these periods are dis-cussed throughout the dissertation and are expressed through the concepts of the "urban–rural relationship" and the "urban boundary". The study focuses on the spatial impact of population growth and ur-ban expansion in the late Ottoman period and analyses the active and passive roles played by market gardens, vineyards and orchards in land development. The problems caused by the physical expansion of the city during this period also led to efforts to draw a boundary around the city within the framework of modern administrative think-ing. Throughout the study, the issue of urban boundaries is examined in relation to various factors such as food and housing prices, taxes, and a range of actors including the municipality, gardeners, and other food producers. With the early Republican period, the focus of re-search shifts to the new methods, opportunities and policies that be-gan to be adopted in the production, distribution and consumption of fresh food. Although the question of defining the city's boundaries, a problem inherited from the late Ottoman period, persisted during these years, the era was defined by official and public debates over whether Istanbul could be considered an agricultural city. In the early 1930s, the city had the potential to develop both industrially and agri-culturally. However, developments after 1935 paved the way for the elimination of agriculture from urban space and daily life in Istanbul. The study examines the impact on this transformation of factors such as the introduction of modern management projects imposing hygiene and aesthetic standards, increased transport capacity and the expan-sion of scale of vegetable production and supply as a result of policy implementation, and the inability of growers to compete in these in-creasingly difficult conditions. This dissertation draws on three evolv-ing and interrelated literatures: critical urban theory, urban ecology and urban environmental history. It aims to contribute to the above–mentioned areas of research by examining the intertwined dynamics of urban transformation and urban–rural relations from the perspec-tive of Istanbul's history.
Tarihi bir çarşıda süreklilik, değişim ve kayıt dışılık: 2020'lerde Kapalıçarşı
This thesis focuses on informal economic activities and their underlying dynamics through the experiences of economic actors in the Grand Bazaar. It examines the various forms of informal income generation in this traditional bazaar, the processes by which transitions from informal to formal structures occur, and the perspectives of numerous actors from different occupational groups regarding informality. The thesis aims to elucidate the complex structure of economic activities in the Grand Bazaar by first defining, and then analyzing them - drawing particularly on the literature surrounding the informal economy and its conceptual frameworks. The fieldwork is based on 21 in-depth interviews conducted between 2024 and 2025. Ultimately, the thesis seeks to explore the informal labor force as it diversifies within the unique economic and cultural context of the Grand Bazaar, focusing on the bazaar's economic actors, and thereby contributing to the enrichment of academic literature in this field.