Call for applications extended to 1st of March 2014
Anti-government demonstrations worldwide have brought together individuals and groups that are conventionally unlikely to unite for a common cause mainly due to different ideological tendencies. Turkey’s Gezi Park protests have particularly highlighted the role of youth, women, and sports in establishing unusual alliances between, for instance, Turkish and Kurdish nationalists or far left and far right groups in Turkey. They have also uncovered internal divisions within political Islam as Anti-Capitalist Muslims have played a leading role in the protests against the Turkish government. This encourages us to ask (1) whether similar trends have been observed in other countries and (2) to what extent political ideologies have become obsolete in today’s politics and society. In brief, we are interested in learning how and to what extent ideological divides have been transcended during the recent anti-government demonstrations in different parts of the world such as Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Brazil, Europe, and the USA.
Topics of interest include (this list is not exhaustive):
-youth participation in demonstrations (For instance, is the 21st century youth apolitical as is traditionally assumed?)
-the role of women and feminist movements in protest movements
-the role of sports as bridging and/or dividing protesters
-nationalist and political Islamist approaches to anti-government demonstrations
-Can we speak of the end or the revival of ideology in the context of protest movements?
-Is there a dialogue between the protest movements in different parts of the world? (for example, do Occupy movements spread through emulation?)
PhD candidates and scholars are welcome to present their theoretical and empirical findings on relevant themes.
This workshop will take place on 15 April 2014 Tuesday at Oxford Brookes University (Headington, UK).
Please send your short summary (1000-1500 words) toChangingTurkey@gmail.com by 1st March 2014.
We will contact the selected speakers in mid-February.
ChangingTurkey.com will publish the short summary of accepted papers under the category ‘Discussion’.
