Protest and Politics in Turkey in the 70s

Protest and Politics in Turkey in the 1970s: Echoes of Dissent offers the first comprehensive academic study of Turkey’s protest cycle during the 1970s. Drawing on an original dataset, the book examines the interaction between collective action and state repression, tracing the development of leftist, nationalist, and Islamist movements throughout the decade. The book also analyzes how the 1980 military coup suppressed organized political activity and reshaped the political arena, contributing to the subsequent rise of political Islam and the country’s broader rightward shift. By connecting the political struggles of the 1970s to contemporary debates over authoritarianism, democracy, and protest, the study contributes to scholarship on social movements, repression, and political change.

This event is co-sponsored by CDDRL's Program on Turkey and the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Selin Bengi Gümrükçü teaches political science at Rutgers University. She received her PhD from the University of Zurich. She previously taught at İzmir University of Economics and held visiting positions at Bielefeld University, Sciences Po, Paris 8, and the European University Institute. Her research focuses on social movements, political parties, the far right, political violence, and Europeanization, with an emphasis on Turkey. Her first book, Protest and Politics in Turkey in the 1970s: Echoes of Dissent, was published by Routledge in 2026.