Teaching in a state university has become almost impossible for the academics that do not support the ruling elites in Turkey. Criticizing government officials, and lacking relevant networks backed by the regime (being an undesired candidate for the government-funded projects in certain NGOs) can throw a scholar into the dark holes of unemployment and academic discredit.
In this personal story, I draw a picture of being a dissident scholar surrounded by a pseudo-academic community in an authoritarian country. The pseudo-academic community that invades a large portion of Turkish academia consists of a big group of scholars that is characterized by having close and most of the time even organic ties with the government. Today’s pseudo-academic community prefers to keep silent about the ongoing human rights violations and democratic weakening in the country to strengthen their academic and employment positions.
In this article I attempt to tell my personal story as an academic in an authoritarian society where loyalty to the ruling elites is rewarded and criticism is regarded as some sort of betrayal. By doing so, I also aim to shed light on the major flaws of Turkish academia such as the constant weakening of academic freedoms and the rising levels of unfair recruitment practices.
In the past, the Kemalist academic hegemony used to claim that they had the one and only legitimate right to diagnose the problems of the society and offer solutions to them. Today’s hegemonic academic establishment that mostly consists of “Islamist” pro-government scholars holds the same bizarre claim. In such an atmosphere, academics like me are pushed to the margins of academia through some kind of victimization due to constant demonization and unemployment.
I am an independent researcher and I write about what is really going on in the country rather than drawing a picture of an “imaginary flawless Turkey”. My research focuses on Turkish politics, democracy, human rights in general and Turkey’s deepening democratic erosion in particular.
My academic journey as an independent researcher started in 2015, the year that I earned my PhD degree from Fatih University. Following my graduation Turkey witnessed a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016 and Fatih University got closed down.
Turkey witnessed the bloodiest coup attempt in its modern history on July 15, 2016. Ankara declared a state of emergency that continued for two years. The event was a turning point in Turkish political history. On July 23, 2016, a decree went into effect ordering the closure of 15 Turkish universities including Fatih University in connection with a state of emergency.
The decree ordered the closure of universities (among other institutions) that “belong to, are connected or are in communication with the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ/Parallel State Structure), which has been identified as a threat to national security.” The FETÖ/Parallel State Structure is a term coined by state elites to refer to the supporters of Fethullah Gülen. However, today almost all the segments of society including the political opposition prefer to use that term as a kind of hate speech against the “other”.
The number of academics expelled from universities by statutory decrees after the coup attempt exceeds 20 times the number of academics purged in all coup periods. The number of dismissed academics is more than 5.000. The fear climate that has been boosted by the government empowers the status-quo which the pseudo academic community enjoys today.
As a graduate of a university that was affiliated with the so-called “FETO”, I have been demonized and I have faced lots of unfair treatments in my job applications. As a political scientist who focus on democratic backsliding and human rights abuses in Turkey I am well aware of the fact that I am among the “persona non grata” researchers in the eyes of today’s hegemonic academic establishment.
Today’s pseudo-academic community gives all the credit to the similar-minded people. The majority of the academics in this group have a few or even no publications in prestigious journals and yet many of them sit in leadership positions in public universities due to their networks that are supported by the ruling elites. They hire the academics belonging to their own network and this vicious circle has been reproduced continuously.
A recent research which analyzed the rectors of 197 universities (127 public and 70 private) in Turkey shows that 29% of the rectors had no citations in Scopus, and 36% had no citations in Web of Science. This clearly shows that some of the rectors have been appointed based on their loyalty to ruling elites rather than their academic qualifications. Rectors have been appointed directly by the president since 2018. Many rector appointments not only threaten the fundamental operation of universities but also compromise universities’ reputation.
In addition to rising levels of nepotism, the weakening of academic freedom is another problem that is intrinsic in Turkish academia. In countries like Turkey wherein the rule of law principle is quite weak and democratic norms and values are not robust, civil liberties including free speech are under constant threat. And it is not hard to see that this threat also poses a major danger against academic freedom. Academic Freedom Index reveals that for the period between 2011 and 2021 major declines in academic freedom were evident in Brazil, India, Hong Kong and Turkey. Academic activity in Turkey has been penalized, oppressed and finally dismissed when it is deemed to be contrary to what is determined by political and cultural establishment. Unfortunately what is existent today is the hegemony of pseudo-academics who owe their position not to their scholarly endeavors and knowledge but to the support of a certain ideological and religious group and/or the government.
I think the biggest problem of Turkish academia today is the invasion of universities by these pseudo-academics. These academics constantly publish the already existing work through re-writing literature review papers rather than producing original studies and presenting alternative insights to the academic community. This culture of academic writing is unproductive as opposed its abroad counterparts.
An economist can draw an optimistic picture despite the rising inflation and unemployment rates, but if this economist ignores the huge number of unemployed people and the increasing poverty among the large segments of society, his / her preach in a TV show cannot move beyond the murmurs of a pseudo-academic, I think.
If a human rights scholar does not talk about the human rights violations and homicides of women, what do you think the world vision of the law students instructed by this scholar would be like? If a political scientist reduces democracy only to the ballot box without mentioning principles such as press freedom, rule of law, and separation of powers she/he will turn into a propaganda machine serving the elites.
As a political scientist, in most of my writings, I have engaged myself in writing about human rights violations, anti-democratic practices, unemployment problem, violence against women, the widespread network of nepotism that job seekers complain about, and censorship and self-censorship among media professionals and the academics.
I write about what is going on, what is wrong and what needs to be done to fix the problems. To tell the truth has made me subjected to being unemployed but I choose not to give up. Despite the challenges, I have tried to do my best for my commitment to the field and I have continued to invest in both my professional growth and contributing meaningfully to the field. My academic studies so far have been cited by 200+ researchers worldwide.
I hope my personal unique story can draw a picture for hope and passion for young scholars who struggle to embrace their unique and truthful academic voice in an authoritarian society.
