Public land grabbing in the age of neoliberalism: Legal and political mechanisms of capital accumulation in Turkey’s Green Road Project
Öz
This study examines land grabbing in Turkey through the Green Road Project, situating it within broader theoretical discussions. Introducing the concept of "public land grabbing," it argues that Turkey’s reliance on public lands and the nature of public ownership shape the legal, institutional, and political mechanisms of land acquisitions via megaprojects. Using legal analysis, field studies, media coverage, and archival research, the study highlights three key arguments: (1) Legal amendments facilitate the commercial repurposing of public lands under the guise of "public interest"; (2) Public-private partnerships enable access to capital on public lands, fostering a crony form of capital accumulation; and (3) "Public interest" rhetoric delegitimizes opposition and fragments resistance.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Green Road, Public Land, Megaprojects, Land Grabbing, Public-Private Partnership
Destekleyen Kurum
Yazar, bu makalenin araştırılması, yazarlığı ve/veya yayımlanması için herhangi bir mali destek almadığını beyan etmektedir.
Etik Beyan
Yazar, çalışmada herhangi bir etik dışı durum bulunmadığını ve araştırma ile yayın etiği kurallarına titizlikle uyulduğunu beyan etmektedir.
Kaynakça
- References ADAMAN, F., ARSEL, M., and AKBULUT, B. Ö. (2017), “Conclusion: Neoliberal Modernisation Cast in Concrete”, in Neoliberal Turkey and its Discontents: Economic Policy and the Environment Under Erdoğan, (eds.) F. Adaman and B. Akbulut, I.B. Tauris, 246–254.
- ADAMAN, F., ARSEL, M., and AKBULUT, B. Ö. (2018), Neoliberal Developmentalism, Authoritarian Populism, and Extractivism in the Countryside: The Soma Mining Disaster in Turkey. Journal of Peasant Studies, 45 (3), 514–536.
- AJANS HABER (2018), Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan Açıkladı: İşte Hayata Geçecek o 146 Dev Proje! https://www.ajanshaber.com/cumhurbaskani-erdogan-acikladi-iste-istehayata-gececek-o-146-dev-proje-haberi/427705, May 24 2020.
- ALP, A. (2015), Yeşil Yol Projesi Seçim Beyannamesinde. Hürriyet. https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/ekonomi/yesil-yol-projesi-secim-beyannamesinde, , May 10 2015.
- ARAGHİ, F. (2009), Accumulation by Displacement: Global Enclosures, Food Crisis, and the Ecological Contradictions of Capitalism. Review (Fernand Braudel Center), 32 (1), 113–146.
- ARSEL, M., AKBULUT, B. Ö., and ADAMAN, F. (2015), Environmentalism of the Malcontent: Anatomy of an Anti-coal Power Plant Struggle in Turkey. Journal of Peasant Studies, 42 (2), 371–395.
- ATASOY, Y. (2016), Repossession, Re‐informalization and Dispossession: The ‘Muddy Terrain’ of Land Commodification in Turkey. Journal of Agrarian Change, 17 (4), 657–679.
- ATMIŞ, E. (2016), “Yaylalardaki Toplumsal Dönüşüm ve Yeşil Yol”, in Yaşam Alanıma Dokunma / Yeşil Yola Dur De Sempozyumu, Yaylaların Kardeşliği Platformu, 29-35.
- BAYIRBAĞ, M., SCHINDLER, S., and PENBECİOĞLU, M. (2022), The Limits to Urban Revolution: The Transformation of Ankara, Turkey, Under the Justice and Development Party. Urban Geography, 43 (10), 1677–1700.
- BENJAMINSEN, T. A., and BRYCESON, I. (2012), Conservation, Green/blue Grabbing and Accumulation by Dispossession in Tanzania. Journal of Peasant Studies, 39 (2), 335–355.