Academic Freedom in Turkey: TSSA Congresses and Talking on Disadvantaged Groups

Academic milieus such as symposia, congresses and conferences may be analyzed as places where the traces of academic freedom can be tracked. Such an analysis can be carried out through determination of whether the proceedings of these events include studies on disadvantaged groups that focus on class-based, ethnic, religious and sexual discrimination by moving beyond the hegemonic discourse and the dominant paradigm. Within this scope, the current study has two main areas of focus: the first is an analysis of whether and in what context the problems faced by the disadvantaged groups have been discussed in the Turkish Social Sciences Association’s (TSSA) biannual congresses held during the rule of the Justice and Development Party (JDP); and the second is an evaluation of academics that offer a critical perspective on "sensitive" issues. To this end, the current paper, starting from the TSSA congress held in 2001 - a year before the JDP seized power- and including the congresses held in 2003 and 2005, offers a general evaluation of the congresses. In the second part, the paper addresses the congresses held in 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015, which can be defined as a more liberal period of the JDP rule, coinciding with efforts towards a peaceful resolution to Armenian, Alawite and Kurdish questions. Finally, the paper offers an analysis of the last congress held in 2017 under the state of emergency that saw replacement of a liberal outlook of the government with straightforward pressure on dissent. A total of six congresses have therefore been analyzed with regard to the program content, the proceedings, and ways of handling the issues that relate to Kurds, Armenians, Alawites, women and children.