The case of Turkey will be examined in light of a variety of social structural factors, such as demographic changes, rapid urbanization, class struggles and culture wars, power structure and relations of domination, and finally the dialectical effects of resistance movements against authoritarian neoliberalism. External factors such as global financial crises, the ongoing wars in the Middle East, etc. will also be considered.

The rise of authoritarianism around the world has drawn the increasing attention of social theorists and sociologists for more than a decade, with Turkey becoming one of the most clear examples. This seminar explores Turkey’s gradual shift towards authoritarianism over the last decade so as to discuss to what extent this shift is part of a global drift toward authoritarianism and also to what extent, in Turkey’s case, the drift is a function of Turkey’s own history.