Thoughts on the political significance of the Turkish movement
By Panagiotis Sotiris [1]
It is still early to fully appreciate the consequences of the popular uprising in Turkey. However, one thing is for sure: we are still at a very particular historical conjuncture, marked not just by protest and contention, but also by movements of impressive magnitude and an almost insurrectionary character.
From December 2008 in Greece, that extraordinary “postcard from the future”, to the Arab Spring, the Indignados Movement, the prolonged struggle of the Greek people against austerity, the Occupy movement in North America, the student revolts in Britain, Canada and Chile and the current Turkish protests, we have been witnessing movements that are not only massive but also go beyond simply articulating grievances and demands. These are movements that, one way or the other, demand radical social and political change. That is why they do not take the form of traditional protests, nor do they engage in pressure politics. Rather, they opt for new and highly original forms of almost insurrectionary practices that not only make manifest a deep discontent with contemporary neoliberal capitalist societies, but also attempt to turn their alternative visions of democracy and justice into practice.
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