Environmentalism in Turkey


Book Description

Bringing together a mixture of theoretical discussion, political analyses and illustrative case studies, this volume provides the first comprehensive scholarly analysis of the tension between environmental protection and economic development in Turkey. Through its dual focus on democratization and modernization, this book also makes an important contribution to the literature on politics in contemporary Turkey. It identifies and analyses the forces underwriting the growth of environmental social movements, investigates the impacts these movements have on development and modernization, and above all, evaluates the role played by environmental movements in the democratization process of Turkey.




Transforming Socio-Natures in Turkey


Book Description

This book is an exploration of the environmental makings and contested historical trajectories of environmental change in Turkey. Despite the recent proliferation of studies on the political economy of environmental change and urban transformation, until now there has not been a sufficiently complete treatment of Turkey's troubled environments, which live on the edge both geographically (between Europe and Middle East) and politically (between democracy and totalitarianism). The contributors to Transforming Socio-Natures in Turkey use the toolbox of environmental humanities to explore the main political, cultural and historical factors relating to the country’s socio-environmental problems. This leads not only to a better grounding of some of the historical and contemporary debates on the environment in Turkey, but also a deeper understanding of the multiplicity of framings around more-than-human interactions in the country in a time of authoritarian populism. This book will be of interest not only to students of Turkey from a variety of social science and humanities disciplines but also contribute to the larger debates on environmental change and developmentalism in the context of a global populist turn.




How to Make a Wetland


Book Description

How to Make A Wetland tells the story of two Turkish coastal areas, both shaped by ecological change and political uncertainty. On the Black Sea coast and the shores of the Aegean, farmers, scientists, fishermen, and families grapple with livelihoods in transition, as their environment is bound up in national and international conservation projects. Bridges and drainage canals, apartment buildings and highways—as well as the birds, water buffalo, and various animals of the regions—all inform a moral ecology in the making. Drawing on six years of fieldwork in wetlands and deltas, Caterina Scaramelli offers an anthropological understanding of sweeping environmental and infrastructural change, and the moral claims made on livability and materiality in Turkey, and beyond. Beginning from a moral ecological position, she takes into account the notion that politics is not simply projected onto animals, plants, soil, water, sediments, rocks, and other non-human beings and materials. Rather, people make politics through them. With this book, she highlights the aspirations, moral relations, and care practices in constant play in contestations and alliances over environmental change.




Building Modern Turkey


Book Description

Building Modern Turkey offers a critical account of how the built environment mediated Turkey's transition from a pluralistic (multiethnic and multireligious) empire into a modern, homogenized nation-state following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. Zeynep Kezer argues that the deliberate dismantling of ethnic and religious enclaves and the spatial practices that ensued were as integral to conjuring up a sense of national unity and facilitating the operations of a modern nation-state as were the creation of a new capital, Ankara, and other sites and services that embodied a new modern way of life. The book breaks new ground by examining both the creative and destructive forces at play in the making of modern Turkey and by addressing the overwhelming frictions during this profound transformation and their long-term consequences. By considering spatial transformations at different scales—from the experience of the individual self in space to that of international geopolitical disputes—Kezer also illuminates the concrete and performative dimensions of fortifying a political ideology, one that instills in the population a sense of membership in and allegiance to the nation above all competing loyalties and ensures its longevity.




Fishers and Scientists in Modern Turkey


Book Description

Through the ethnography and history of fish production, seafood consumption, state modernizing policies and marine science, this book analyzes the role of local knowledge in the management of marine resources on the Eastern Black Sea coast of Turkey. Fishing, science and other ways of knowing and relating to fish and the sea are analyzed as particular ways of life conditioned by history, ideology and daily practice. The approach adopted here allows for a broader analysis of the role knowledge plays in the management of common pool resources (CPR) than is provided in much of the contemporary CPR debate that tends to have a somewhat narrow focus on institutions and rules. By contrast, the author argues that also local knowledge and the larger historical and ideological context of production, as manifest in state modernization policies and consumption patterns, should be taken into account when trying to explain the current management regime in Turkish Black Sea fisheries.




Environmental Awareness and the Role of Social Media


Book Description

Social media has quickly become one of the most effective tools in reaching masses of people. As environmental issues are becoming more prevalent and frequently acknowledged, social media is playing an important role in sharing various environmental problems as well as suitable solutions. Environmental Awareness and the Role of Social Media is an essential reference source for individuals seeking to raise awareness of environmental issues through social media platforms. The book examines social media’s use in disaster awareness, sustainability promotion, and marketing environmentally friendly products from an international perspective. This book is an excellent resource for environmentalists, environmental activists, scientists, public figures, policy makers, academicians, and individuals interested in research focused on the impact of social media on issues that affect the entire planet.




Neoliberal Turkey and its Discontents


Book Description

The 'neoliberal' economic policy of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP Party, which has delivered extraordinary growth in Turkish GDP over the last decade, has been one of the foundations of the party's popular appeal. Here, a group of experts on Turkish political economy show how these policies have also had a detrimental impact on the environment, sustainability and the long-term health of the Turkish economy. Taking the two main sectors of growth during the past decade-energy and construction-as its primary focus, the book engages broadly with the political economy of inequality and sustainability in contemporary Turkey. Ultimately, the authors argue that 'environmental conflicts' in Turkey are not merely about the environment but intersect with contemporary politics of religion, ethnicity, gender, and class within the context of top-down, modernising economic development. Neoliberal Turkey and its Discontents marks an important contribution to debates around the economic growth of Turkey and the future of the AKP's long-term economic plan.




Urban Groundwater Management and Sustainability


Book Description

The forty papers in this book explore the state of sustainable groundwater management in a wide range of countries and cultures, climates, and geologies. They are organized in topic areas covering flow, chemical water quality, biological water quality, remediation, engineering, and socio-economics. An introductory section presents a range of integrated regional-scale studies. This volume will interest groundwater specialists in industry and research, and will provide insight for other urban specialists, including planners.




Environmentalism in Turkey


Book Description

Bringing together a mixture of theoretical discussion, political analyses and illustrative case studies, this volume provides the first comprehensive scholarly analysis of the tension between environmental protection and economic development in Turkey. Above all, it evaluates the role played by environmental movements in the democratization process of Turkey.




Global Atmospheric Change and its Impact on Regional Air Quality


Book Description

The NATO ARW in Irkutsk was an excellent occasion for the coming together of Eastern and Western scientists who are involved in tropospheric science; the workshop has greatly contributed to the scientific and social understanding among the participants from the many different countries. Many new personal contacts were made which will help to strengthen future collaborations. In particular, the Lake Baikal area and the Limnological Institute offer splendid opportunities for environmental research which, in part, is already on going. For most participants it was the first time to see the impressive nature of the Lake Baikal region. Hopefully, there will be a chance for a follow-up event in Siberia where researchers from the East and West can again meet and engage in fruitful scientific dialogue. The book contains extended abstracts of the lectures and the poster presentations presented at the NATO ARW "Global Atmospheric Change and its Impact on Regional Air Quality" Irkutsk, Lake Baikal, Russian Federation, August 21-27, 2001. The ARW was composed of 22 oral presentations by key lecturers and 6 additional shorter oral presentations from participants. In a special poster session the 36 poster contributions were presented and discussed. Unfortunately not all contributors submitted extended abstracts, however, to compensate two contributions have been added from 2 participants who were originally invited but were unable to attend.