National Neoliberalism in Turkey

In the summer of 2013, Istanbul's Gezi Park became the site of a historic mobilization against the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. Prompted by plans to privatize and commodify one of the last vestiges of truly public space in downtown Istanbul, protests spread across the country, with approximately 3.6 million people participating. The protestors coalesced around rejecting the AKP's authoritarianism, but the demonstrations also underscored growing popular discontent with neoliberalism in a country once considered a model for "emerging" economies. The protesters demanded the right to the city, protection of workers' rights, equal access to healthcare and education, and an end to the "pillaging of [Turkey's] ecological heritage." In response, officials portrayed the mobilization as a neferious international plot to hinder Turkey's economic growth. Once a champion of deepening the country's integration into the world market, the AKP government was now vilifying global market forces as a threat to Turkey's "national will."