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When people learn that demonstrators are being subjected to harsh treatment by the police, sometimes their reaction is to join demonstrations. What explains the potentially mobilizing power of repression? Information-oriented theories posit that repression changes people's beliefs about the likely success of the protests or the type of the government, thus encouraging them to join. Social-psychological theories posit that repression provokes a moral and emotional reaction from bystanders, and these emotional reactions are mobilizing. Our research offers a rare opportunity to test these theories, empirically, against one another. We offer experimental evidence from Turkey after the 2013 Gezi uprising. In this setting, emotional reactions appear to be the link between repression and backlash mobilization. Information-oriented theories of backlash mobilization may be less germane in democracies, in which people already have access to information about their governments, and in highly polarized polities, in which few people's political affinities are up for grabs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I argue for the distinctness of the 2013 Gezi uprisings from other anti-austerity protests. With a materialist feminist eye on the third-term AKP government's conservative authoritarianism, I explore the causal links among patriarchal, racist biopolitics, heteronormative family values and increasing austerity measures. My broader analytical goal is to demonstrate the centrality of moral politics to uneven, security-based neoliberal regulations across markets, public spaces, and civic expression in and beyond Turkey. Second, I zoom in on the mothers' rallies and gendered, ethnic acts of mourning to analyse the performative constitution of multiple publics during the protests. What exclusions have the participants produced in the name of inclusion? How can a performance paradigm help us understand the contradictory uses of space among and against the protestors, and more broadly, the relevance of embodied dissent to different visions of social justice? To deepen our intersectional feminist analysis, I suggest taking performances seriously, from human chains to soundscapes of resistance, stillness, and brutality; and from eclectic dance forms to architectural disruptions. Attending to the uprisings' fault-lines and radical contributions, I also caution against 'romancing resistance'. Hope with qualms is what remains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the prospects of Turkey moving toward authoritarian form of government under Turkish political party Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, referencing the country's political history and nationalism from 2002 through 2014. The Turkish government's response to the protests at Gezi Park in Taksim Square, Istanbul, Turkey in 2013 is discussed. The relationship between Islam and state in Turkey is also discussed.

One year on from the widespread protests in Turkey, the question of why small environmental protests against the building of a shopping mall on Gezi Park in the centre of Istanbul turned into the biggest example of mass civil movement in the republic's history remains unanswered. This article suggests that one can easily detect signs of instability and social unrest in the country long before these mass demonstrations took place. By analysing the evolution of the Turkish party system over the past decade, I argue that the political upheaval in the country is the result of a crisis of representation. This has two aspects: a high degree of polarisation has left certain segments of society unrepresented, while the AKP government has ceased to maintain the balance between responsiveness and responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented on the political protests in Gezi Park, Taksim, Turkey and the creativity of performance that arose from the protests. It offers a history of revolts and demonstrations in Turkey including Kurdish riots, clashes between Marxists and extreme nationalists, and Events of 6-7 September. The author also discusses protest events and performances which include Taksim and resistance, Park performances, and rising tensions caused by the entrance of riot police.

The article discusses efforts by Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to suppress and criticize the Turkish media as of late 2013. It examines television network CNN Turk owner Aydin Dogan and CNN Turk's lack of coverage during demonstrations known as the Gezi Park protests in Turkey in June 2013. The article discusses Dogan's career, Erdogan's public denunciations of the media during weekly speeches in the Turkish General Assembly, and the propaganda of the Turkish political party the Justice and Development Party (AKP). It also discusses Erdogan's political success, the fundraising entity known as Deniz Feneri, and sympathetic journalists close to Erdogan.

The anti-government protests in Turkey emerged as a legitimate and even necessary reaction against police brutality to evolved into violent revolts targeting Prime Minister Erdoğan. Since the initial protests, commentators sought to make sense of the phenomenon with reference to the Gezi youth. A closer examination, however, would reveal the Leftist-Kemalist aura of the protests that came under the tutelage of Taksim Solidarity, an umbrella organization of left-wing associations, and the Republican People's Party. Meanwhile, the general public kept its distance from the violent demonstrations. Not only AK Party supporters but also many liberals and secular-minded democrats found the developments alarming. While the protests marks a step forward for Turkey's once-apathetic opposition groups, their failure prevented a revival of authoritarianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the role of democracy in 21st century Turkey with special attention to demonstrations at the Gezi Park, Istanbul, the relationship between the media and democracy, as well as protesters. Other topics mentioned in this article include social mobilization, the economic situation of Turkey, and the role of new media.

The article reports on protests at the Gezi Park in Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey beginning in 2013. Topics include the protesters' objections to the removal of trees in the park for the construction of a military barrack, international perceptions of the protests, and the response of the Turkish government to the protest. Attitudes of the ruling Turkish political party Justice and Development Party (AKP) towards opposition and legal means of addressing protesters' demands are also noted.