Browsing by Author "Sayan, Pinar"

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Authoritarian Neoliberalism and Resistance in Turkey Construction, Consolidation, and Contestation Introduction
(Palgrave Macmillan, 2022) Borsuk, Imren; Dinc, Pinar; Kavak, Sinem; Sayan, Pinar
While capitalism has been associated with democracy for a long time, the neoliberalisation that has coincided with the rise of populism and authoritarian resurgence in the global context demands further inquiry into the relationship between capital accumulation and political regimes. The growing literature on authoritarian neoliberalism examines the relationship between authoritarian governance and neoliberalisation, and interrogates how neoliberal reforms buttress the legal, administrative, and coercive power of states, creating leverage for ruling governments to enhance authoritarian forms of governance. While these studies highlight the vulnerability of these regimes and emphasise their crisis-laden character, there is a need for an extensive analysis of the dynamics of resistance in authoritarian neoliberal regimes to understand the limits and potentials of counter-hegemonic practices. Using in-depth case studies, this book demonstrates the repertoires of resistance against authoritarian neoliberalism in Turkey and discusses how different sections of society, including NGOs, bureaucrats, media, workers, marginalised communities and activists, challenge or reinforce neoliberal policies with their claims, tactics, strategies, and discourses. Drawing upon multidisciplinary scholarship from sociology, politics, law, media, urban development, and feminist studies, this book sheds light on the capacity of resistance to challenge the authoritarian forms of the neoliberal regime from within.
Consolidating and Contesting Authoritarian Neoliberalism in Turkey: Towards a Framework
(Palgrave Macmillan, 2022) Borsuk, Imren; Dinc, Pinar; Kavak, Sinem; Sayan, Pinar
During the early years of the ruling Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (Justice and Development Party, AKP), Turkey was seen as a burgeoning democratic power propped up by economic prosperity in line with the reforms for European Union (EU) accession and International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditionality. However, 20 years later, it is considered an emblematic case of democratic backsliding in line with rising poverty and inequalities that have been amplified as a result of sweeping neoliberal reforms and authoritarian consolidation in the country. The recent literature has identified these concomitant and complementary modes of authoritarian governance and neoliberal policies in Turkey as 'authoritarian neoliberalism'. In this chapter, we discuss the dynamics of consolidation of authoritarian neoliberalism in Turkey as well as the acts of contention against it. Building mainly on the eight case studies presented in this volume, we put forward a framework that explains the consolidation of authoritarian neoliberalism in Turkey through the mechanisms of executive centralisation, autocratic legalism, cronyism, violence-fuelled rentier accumulation, criminalisation and stigmatisation, and contestations against authoritarian neoliberalism through strikes, protests, demonstrations, network building, litigation, everyday struggles, and armed acts of contention.
Enforcement of the Anti-Racism Legislation of the European Union Against Antigypsyism
(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2019) Sayan, Pinar
The European Union (EU) became a pioneer of the promotion of human rights and democratic values especially during the last decades. However, the members of the EU are not immune from the human rights violations including the areas of "equality" and "non-discrimination" that are related to racism, discrimination and xenophobia. "Antigypsyism", a form of racism, is among the most challenging human rights areas for the member states despite all recent initiatives. In this research, the use of EU competences to combat antigypsyism is analysed with case studies. It is argued that the use of the competences is limited.
NGOization, Politicization and Polarization of Roma Civil Society in Turkey
(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2022) Sayan, Pinar; Duygulu, Sirin
Roma are one of the most marginalized and discriminated-against groups in Turkey. During the last decade, however, a new trend has emerged: the institutionalization of Roma civil society. Roma civil society has moved from having no registered organizations in 2004 to having 336 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as of 2020. This paper critically analyses the rapid expansion of Roma NGOs in Turkey and discusses the impact of this expansion on Roma communities. Based on a systematic analysis of 14 semi-structured interviews conducted with those who have experience within Roma NGOs, this article argues that the potential positive effects of the expansion of institutionalized Roma civil society have been hampered by limited resources, blurred state-civil society relations, as well as polarization in Turkish society. As a result, Roma civil society became politicized and polarized. While providing insights into an understudied segment of civil society in Turkey, this study also provides further evidence for criticisms about the current state of Turkish civil society.
A Positive Deviance Approach to Roma Education
(Sage Publications Ltd, 2025) Sayan, Pinar
Across Europe, Roma students suffer from high abstention and dropout rates due to segregation in schools and classrooms, discrimination they face from the administrations, teachers, and peers, poverty, seasonal migration, and low expectations regarding education. This article, on the other hand, focuses on successful Roma students, asking whether there are any common structural factors that explain their success. The research is based on the "positive deviance approach", which suggests that solutions to community problems already exist within the community. Therefore, this article aims to contribute to developing effective policies or strategies to address the educational challenges faced by Roma by focusing on solutions employed by the community members themselves. I conduct in-depth interviews with successful Roma individuals from T & uuml;rkiye, and complement the research with existing data and reports. The main findings suggest that material and non-material support, socialization, mixed schools and guidance had a positive impact for success. The findings have the potential to influence the policy responses of international organizations, governments, and civil society.