Being There

Abstract

By happenstance, we found ourselves in Istanbul, Turkey in early June 2013 only days after a mass anti-government protest developed in and around Gezi Park. In addition to informal discussions and interviews with academics and others, we visited the protest site and traveled throughout Istanbul to directly experience the atmosphere and events. We also conducted two studies of Turks' participation in, and views of, the protests. This paper recounts the events in Istanbul that summer and reviews our own, and other, social science research on the protests and the protestors. We focus on who the protestors were and why they protested, as opposed to the less engaged actions of visiting the protests or following them in the media.The visit to Istanbul by those of us based in the U.S. was supported by Bahçeşehir University. We wish to thank our academic host (Jacquie Mattis), the chairman of the board (Enver Yücel), and all of the faculty and staff who helped us. We are very grateful for their hospitality and generosity. Of course, this work expresses our views, not theirs.

Explaining different orientations to the 2013 Gezi Park demonstrations in Istanbul, Turkey

“…Visiting the site of mass demonstrations is one such orientation that indicates interest in the demonstration and the social and political issues it raises without necessarily implying endorsement of the protestors or their cause. As in many marches and occupations of public places, the Gezi Park demonstrations attracted many visitors who came to the site to inform themselves on the protestors and their concerns or simply out of curiosity (Bilgic ß & Kafkaslı, 2013;Konda Arastirma ve Danismanlik, 2014;Leach et al, 2016). Obviously, visiting a site of demonstration is more physically involved than showing interest by simply watching the demonstration via media.…”

“…police violence, and other dangers (e.g., Ayanian & Tausch, 2016; for discussions, see Alnabulsi & Drury, 2014;Klandermans, 1997;Kritzer, 1977). For example, in June 2013, anti-government demonstrations in Istanbul, Turkey, examined here the police used arrests, batons, tear gas, and water cannons against those in and around the main protest sites of Gezi Park and Taksim Square (Bilgic ß & Kafkaslı, 2013;Konda Arastirma ve Danismanlik, 2014;Leach, C ßelik, Bilali, Cidam, & Stewart, 2016). According to the Ministry of the Interior, 1,730 protestors were detained around the country (H€ urriyet Daily News, 2013).…”