Spatialization of antagonism: Hegemonic struggles over Taksim square

This thesis explores the construction of antagonistic political subjectivities through the past and ongoing hegemonic struggles over Taksim Square. Taksim Square is a political space which can help us understand how collective identities and meanings in Turkey have been constructed through the hegemonic struggles and the spatial practices. This thesis analyzes the intricate relations between collective identity, space and collective memory, specifically in the case of transformation of Taksim Square, to get a better grasp of the central role of the production of space in the constitution of antagonistic political identities. This thesis will contribute to the scholarship on the constitution of political subjectivity by showing how Taksim Square functions as a political space through which hegemonic and counter-hegemonic imaginaries and subjectivities are brought into being.