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Deterioration of Women’s Position with Rising Populism

The Case of Turkey

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The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Problems

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Abstract

This article aims to discuss the implications of right-wing populism for gender relations and women’s rights by summarizing the debates on the common gender aspects of current populist discourses in different countries, and by demonstrating the populist elements in contemporary Turkey, especially in the discourses of its populist President Tayyip Erdoğan. The chapter first summarizes the contemporary debates on populism, by pointing out its main distinguishing aspects according to scholars who write on populism. Next, there is a discussion on what right-wing populist discourses suggest in terms of gender, women’s position in society, and family. By focusing on the case of Turkey, the article demonstrates the trajectory of populism in the country and its recent rise during the period of AKP (Justice and Development Party/Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) governments, and discusses the gendered impacts of right-wing populism in Turkey, especially during the period of AKP governments. Finally, there is an analysis of three of President Erdoğan’s speeches on women’s rights, with a reflection on how his populist discourses position women. The article concludes with a discussion of what the Turkish case demonstrates to us about how populist discourses position women in society, and also suggestions and strategies for confronting the threat for women that is created by increasing right-wing populism.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2019/mar/06/revealed-the-rise-and-rise-of-populist-rhetoric (accessed on March 3, 2020).

  2. 2.

    https://www.trthaber.com/haber/gundem/cumhurbaskani-Erdoğan-kultur-koklerimizde-cinsiyet-ayrimciligi-yoktur-394993.html (accessed January 19, 2021)

  3. 3.

    https://www.iletisim.gov.tr/turkce/yerel_basin/detay/cumhurbaskani-Erdoğan-turk-kadinina-secme-ve-secilme-hakkinin-verilisinin-86-yil-donumu-programina-katildi (accessed January 22, 2021)

  4. 4.

    https://www.indyturk.com/node/333636/haber/cumhurba%C5%9Fkanl%C4%B1%C4%9F%C4%B1-i%CC%87leti%C5%9Fim-ba%C5%9Fkanl%C4%B1%C4%9F%C4%B1-i%CC%87stanbul-s%C3%B6zle%C5%9Fmesi-e%C5%9Fcinselli%C4%9Fi (accessed June 1, 2021).

  5. 5.

    https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/turkiye/cumhurbaskani-erdogan-kadina-karsi-siddetin-onlenmesi-simdi-mecliste-yeni-bir-komisyon-olusturuyoruz/2168472 (accessed June 1, 2021).

  6. 6.

    https://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler/2014/11/141124_kadininfitrati_erdogan (accessed on January 25, 2021)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Intercultural Communication, VID Specialized University, Stavanger, Norway

    Meltem Yilmaz Sener

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  1. Meltem Yilmaz Sener
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Correspondence to Meltem Yilmaz Sener .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    Rajendra Baikady

  2. Department of Social Work, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    S.M Sajid

  3. Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland

    Jaroslaw Przeperski

  4. Department of Social Work, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, South Africa

    Varoshini Nadesan

  5. Inst of Social Welfare & Res, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Islam Rezaul

  6. Sch of Philosophy & Social Development, Shandong University, Central Campus, Jinan, China

    Jianguo Gao

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Yilmaz Sener, M. (2021). Deterioration of Women’s Position with Rising Populism. In: Baikady, R., Sajid, S., Przeperski, J., Nadesan, V., Rezaul, I., Gao, J. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Problems. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68127-2_104-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68127-2_104-1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-68127-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-68127-2

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