Overcoming Environmental Challenges by Antagonizing Environmental Protesters: The Turkish Government Discourse against Anti-hydroelectric Power Plants Movements

Abstract

Due to the growing public importance of environmental concerns in the contemporary world, governments that prioritize economic interests over environmental concerns may try to counter environmental challenges not by openly declaring that they do not want to consider environmental demands, but by attempting to antagonize the protesters who voice such demands. This essay explores such a governmental response by analyzing the discourse articulated by the Turkish Government against movements that oppose the construction of hydroelectric power plants (HEPPs) on environmental grounds. In particular, the analysis focuses on how HEPPs, environmental claims and demands of movements, and environmental protesters are represented within the pro-HEPP discourse, and in what ways these representations appeal to popular perceptions. It is demonstrated that the discourse of the government attempts to counter the challenges of protesters by establishing an antagonist relation between the protesters and society by representing HEPPs as crucial for the economic development and, therefore, as compatible with the interests of society as a whole. Moreover, it also attempts to achieve this through portraying the protesters as criminals and terrorists who block the economic development of the country and pose significant threats to the commonwealth, not for legitimate environmental concerns but for some dubious motives and incentives. It is concluded that, with this approach, the government has managed to gain popular consent not only for the construction of HEPPs, but also for the repression of such movements.

Keywords:

• environmental protests
• Turkey
• antagonism
• criminalization
• discourse
• movement repression

Notes

1. Interviews were conducted in three provinces of the Black Sea Region: Trabzon, Rize, and Artvin. In Trabzon, two focus groups interviews were held with the protesters (the members of the Peoples' Houses and the locals from the Caykara-Solakli Valley). In Rize, six one-to-one interviews (Omer San, Gencaga Karafazli, Kazim Delal, Avni Ertas, Mehmet Gurkan, Senol Terzioglu), and a focus group interview (the locals of Findikli town) were conducted, whereas in Artvin, five one-to-one interviews were held (Nese Karahan, Erol Çagal, Bedrettin Kalın, Kamil Ustabas, Senol Cevik).

2. The rules and regulations concerning environmental protection have been shaped within the Turkish context during the last 30 years. However, they have not been enforced effectively by the state agencies. For instance, the “Environmental Impact Assessment” regulation has been modified four times since 1993, all of which have been aimed to eliminate the barriers before the investments (Okumusoğlu, 2012).

3. There have been differing opinions as to the case of the protester's death. While state officials stated that it was a heart attack, the protesters maintained that it was exposure to tear gas.