Conspiracy Theory in Turkey: A Comparative Analysis of the 2013 Gezi Protests and the 2016 Coup Attempt

de Medeiros, Julian (2017) Conspiracy Theory in Turkey: A Comparative Analysis of the 2013 Gezi Protests and the 2016 Coup Attempt. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) thesis, University of Kent,.

Abstract

'Conspiracy Theory in Turkey' can best be described as a philosophical reflection on the Gezi and Coup events, seen through the lens of Conspiracy theory. In particular, this means that both events are considered by virtue of the State response thereto, which in both cases was one of the accusations of conspiracy against the State. In order to 'compare' these two events on the level of the emergence of conspiratorial interpretations and 'paranoid' narratives, I propose a blend of 'framing theory' (as used primarily in the conflict analysis literature), as well as political thought on conspiracy theory (for example, Karl Popper and Charles Pigden1), with occasional inspiration taken from literary theory (in particular, the notion of 'reading' conspiracy for its own logics of power, rather than strictly speaking 'diagnosing' the social impact of conspiracy, I look into the conditions from which it arises and according to what logic and narratives it is perpetuated), critiques of post-modernism (Fredric James reading of 'contingency'2), and psychoanalytic theory (mostly Freudian, with some Lacanian concepts borrowed from Slavoj Zizek's work). I will now briefly break down each of these so as to explain their function within the overall thesis, keeping in mind that they are used to enhance what is at heart a work of comparative politics; that is to say, a comparative account of the role of conspiracy theory in the 2013 Gezi protests and 2016 coup attempt.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctor of Philosophy (PhD))
Thesis advisor:	Loizides, Neophytos
Thesis advisor:	MacKenzie, Iain
Uncontrolled keywords:	Turkish Studies, Conspiracy Theory, Social Movement Studies
Divisions:	Faculties > Social Sciences > School of Politics and International Relations
SWORD Depositor:	System Moodle
Depositing User:	System Moodle
Date Deposited:	19 Dec 2018 14:10 UTC
Last Modified:	30 May 2019 08:38 UTC
Resource URI:	https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/71293 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)