Civic Death in Contemporary Turkey
Mass Surveillance and the Authoritarian State

Analyses the aftermath of the 2016 Turkish coup attempt, wherein the AKP government introduced new methods of authoritarian securitisation.

Seçkin Sertdemir (Author)

9781009524612, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 January 2025

248 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 1.9 cm, 0.51 kg

'… develops a theoretically sophisticated argument that resonates with anyone interested in the consequences of democratic backsliding … Highly recommended.' H. Shambayati, Choice

What does it mean for a government to declare its citizens 'dead' while they still live? Following the failed 2016 coup, the Turkish AKP government implemented sweeping powers against some 152,000 of its citizens. These Kanun hükmünde kararnameli ('emergency decreed') were dismissed from their positions and banned for life from public service. With their citizenship rights revoked, Seçkin Sertdemir argues these individuals were rendered into a state of 'civic death'. This study considers how these authoritarian securitisation methods took shape, shedding light on the lived experiences of targeted people. Bringing together approaches from political philosophy, social anthropology, and sociology, Sertdemir outlines the approaches and justifications used by the Turkish government to dismiss opponents, increase surveillance, and brand citizens as 'terrorists'. At the same time, extensive archival research and in-depth interviews bring focus to the impact of these measures on the lives of women, and the disabled and LGBTQ+ communities.

Introduction: the emergence of the authoritarian securitisation State in Turkey
1. Protection: State security and the widening Orbit of securitisation
2. Punishment: civic death, cruel retribution, and the securitisation of academic purges
3. Control: centralised digital politics, lateral surveillance, and shared governance of contingencies and extra-legal over-reach into domestic life
4. Regulation: informal rule of law, radical uncertainty, and Atmosfearic (self-)regulation
5. Biosecuritisation: the doubled civic death of purged women, LGBTQ+, and disabled people
Conclusion: Turkey's authoritarian securitisation State and the Global rise of authoritarianism
Reference list
Index.

Subject Areas: Constitution: government & the state [JPHC]