PSIR 326, Spring 2020

Department of Political Science and International Relations

Instructor: Dr. Gökser Gökçay

Lecture Room and Hours: Online lectures will be held on Mondays at 10:00, starting on March, 23

Office Room and Hours: Online office hours will be conducted on Tuesdays at 15:00-17:00. You could find access information at STIX.

📒 Course Description

Following the discussions made in our preceding course which covered Turkish Politics until 1960, this course will provide a critical introduction to the political life in Turkey from the 1960 coup d'état to 2020. Various political groups, movements, and parties emerged after the adoption of the 1961 Constitution and diversified the political discussions in Turkey's public discourse. Since then, despite the diversification in democratic forces, Turkey was caught up in military interventions in almost every decade. Turkey managed to revert back to representative democracy every time after military control, albeit with more authoritarian versions. In this course, we will not only analyze the political aspects of these developments, but also their socio-economic origins up until today.

🗝 Course Objectives

<aside> 📌 After taking this course, students are expected:

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To describe and discuss the impact of 27 May 1960 coup in Turkey,
To distinguish and analyze the new political movements in Turkey after the 1960s,
To identify and discuss the political violence and polarization in the 1970s Turkey,
To assess and evaluate the nature of political regime that was formed by the September 12 military junta,
To examine and discuss the sources and mechanisms of identity politics and the escalation of political violence in the 1990s,
To assess and discuss the transformation of political life in general during the Justice and Development Party rule.

📆 Course Schedule

<aside> 📌 Below is the ideal schedule for this semester. Changes or modifications may occur, for a variety of reasons. We will discuss and make changes if the need arises.