A Struggle to Keep Environmental Protests Above Party Politics: The Cerattepe Case
The Cerattepe mining project for the extraction of gold and copper in the city of Artvin has been controversial since the mid-1980s. Local resistance against the project peaked in 2015-2016 in the form of blockages, sit-ins, social media protests, litigations, and signed petitions. This paper analyz...
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| Language: | English |
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Rasim Özgür Dönmez
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Alternatif Politika |
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| Online Access: | https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/3206227 |
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| author | Busra Soylemez-karakoc Mesut Karakoç |
| author_facet | Busra Soylemez-karakoc Mesut Karakoç |
| author_sort | Busra Soylemez-karakoc |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Cerattepe mining project for the extraction of gold and copper in the city of Artvin has been controversial since the mid-1980s. Local resistance against the project peaked in 2015-2016 in the form of blockages, sit-ins, social media protests, litigations, and signed petitions. This paper analyzes protests against the Cerattepe mining project in terms of their motivations, strategies, limitations, and political perceptions. Through an original survey analysis (N=253) and interview data, we find that the locals frame their activism as above party politics to keep a legitimate position in resisting the mining project. This strategy has remained intact for several years despite the politicization attempts of resistance from national-level political parties. We explain this strategy with the national consensus on prioritizing economic growth over environmental issues, neoliberal developmentalism with strong state support for private companies, and high levels of political polarization in society. Overall, the study offers an understanding of the challenges in front of environmental issue-based activism in Turkey and reveals the strategies of locals in resisting an environmentally destructive mining project. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-220cada0d79d44caa842cdc7d9d50cb8 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1309-0593 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Rasim Özgür Dönmez |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Alternatif Politika |
| spelling | doaj-art-220cada0d79d44caa842cdc7d9d50cb82025-08-20T03:54:42ZengRasim Özgür DönmezAlternatif Politika1309-05932023-06-0115226428810.53376/ap.2023.102306A Struggle to Keep Environmental Protests Above Party Politics: The Cerattepe CaseBusra Soylemez-karakoc0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2374-1253Mesut Karakoç1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4333-433XNorthwestern University, Department of Political ScienceADANA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCES, DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONThe Cerattepe mining project for the extraction of gold and copper in the city of Artvin has been controversial since the mid-1980s. Local resistance against the project peaked in 2015-2016 in the form of blockages, sit-ins, social media protests, litigations, and signed petitions. This paper analyzes protests against the Cerattepe mining project in terms of their motivations, strategies, limitations, and political perceptions. Through an original survey analysis (N=253) and interview data, we find that the locals frame their activism as above party politics to keep a legitimate position in resisting the mining project. This strategy has remained intact for several years despite the politicization attempts of resistance from national-level political parties. We explain this strategy with the national consensus on prioritizing economic growth over environmental issues, neoliberal developmentalism with strong state support for private companies, and high levels of political polarization in society. Overall, the study offers an understanding of the challenges in front of environmental issue-based activism in Turkey and reveals the strategies of locals in resisting an environmentally destructive mining project.https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/3206227cerattepe maden projesiçevre hareketlerikonu odaklı aktivizmyerel protestolaraltın ve bakır çıkartmacerattepe mining projectenvironmental movementsissue-based activismlocal protestsgold and copper extraction |
| spellingShingle | Busra Soylemez-karakoc Mesut Karakoç A Struggle to Keep Environmental Protests Above Party Politics: The Cerattepe Case Alternatif Politika cerattepe maden projesi çevre hareketleri konu odaklı aktivizm yerel protestolar altın ve bakır çıkartma cerattepe mining project environmental movements issue-based activism local protests gold and copper extraction |
| title | A Struggle to Keep Environmental Protests Above Party Politics: The Cerattepe Case |
| title_full | A Struggle to Keep Environmental Protests Above Party Politics: The Cerattepe Case |
| title_fullStr | A Struggle to Keep Environmental Protests Above Party Politics: The Cerattepe Case |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Struggle to Keep Environmental Protests Above Party Politics: The Cerattepe Case |
| title_short | A Struggle to Keep Environmental Protests Above Party Politics: The Cerattepe Case |
| title_sort | struggle to keep environmental protests above party politics the cerattepe case |
| topic | cerattepe maden projesi çevre hareketleri konu odaklı aktivizm yerel protestolar altın ve bakır çıkartma cerattepe mining project environmental movements issue-based activism local protests gold and copper extraction |
| url | https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/3206227 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT busrasoylemezkarakoc astruggletokeepenvironmentalprotestsabovepartypoliticsthecerattepecase AT mesutkarakoc astruggletokeepenvironmentalprotestsabovepartypoliticsthecerattepecase AT busrasoylemezkarakoc struggletokeepenvironmentalprotestsabovepartypoliticsthecerattepecase AT mesutkarakoc struggletokeepenvironmentalprotestsabovepartypoliticsthecerattepecase |