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Imaginative Geographies of Green: Difference, Postcoloniality, and Affect in Environmental Narratives in Contemporary Turkey

2014; American Association of Geographers; Volume: 104; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00045608.2014.892356

1467-8306

Leila M. Harris,

Turkey's Politics and Society

AbstractAnalyzing everyday environmental imaginaries from contemporary Turkey through the lenses of postcolonial, emotional-affective, and nature–society geographies, this article offers insights into shifting nature–society relations and possibilities. Based on a series of interviews and focus groups conducted in four sites (Istanbul, Ankara, Diyarbakır, and Şanlıurfa), the concept of imaginative geographies of green is offered to highlight social and spatial differences as central to the articulation of green visions and movements. The research foregrounds several social and spatial gradients specific to the Turkish context, including east–west divides both within and beyond Turkey (i.e., Kurdish–Turkish and eastern–western Turkey, as well as notions of Turkishness and Europeanness). The work also suggests that environmental imaginaries have deeply emotional, ambivalent, and power-laden associations. Apart from the implications of the work for enriched understandings of emergent environmental possibilities in this context, the conclusion touches on ramifications for European Union accession debates as well as new directions for work on environmental citizenship and movements in the global south.本文透过后殖民、情绪—情感, 以及自然—社会地理学的视角, 分析当代土耳其每日生活的环境想像, 并对于转变中的自然—社会关係及可能性提出洞见。本文根据在四个场所 (伊斯坦堡、安哥拉、迪亚巴克尔、以及尚勒乌尔法) 进行的一系列访谈与焦点团体研究, 提出"想像的绿色地理"之概念, 用以凸显社会及空间差异作为绿色概念和运动接合的核心。本研究强调特定于土耳其脉络的部分社会及空间元素 (例如库德族—土耳其人以及东—西土耳其的对立, 以及土耳其性和欧洲性的概念) 。本研究同时主张, 环境想像有着深层的情绪、矛盾且充斥着权力的关联。本研究除了蕴含丰富理解此脉络中浮现的环境可能性之外, 结论部分亦触及有关加入欧盟分支的辩论, 以及研究全球南方环境公民权与运动的新方向。Con el análisis de los imaginarios ambientales cotidianos de la Turquía actual, a través de la óptica de las geografías poscoloniales, afectivo-emocionales y relacionales naturaleza-sociedad, este artículo se compenetra con la cambiantes relaciones y posibilidades de esa dualidad naturaleza-sociedad. Con base en una serie de grupos focales y entrevistas conducidas en cuatro sitios (Estambul, Ankara, Diyarbakir y ªanliurfa), se formula el concepto de geografías imaginativas de lo verde para resaltar las diferencias sociales y espaciales como elementos centrales para la articulación de visiones y movimientos verdes. La investigación destaca varios gradientes sociales y espaciales específicos del contexto turco, incluyendo las divisorias este-oeste, tanto dentro como fuera de Turquía (esto es, kurdo-turco y Turquía este-oeste, lo mismo que las nociones de turquidad y europeidad). También se sugiere en el trabajo que los imaginarios ambientales tienen asociaciones profundamente emocionales, ambivalentes y cargadas de poder. Además de las implicaciones que tiene el trabajo para enriquecer la comprensión de las posibilidades ambientales que emergen en este contexto, la conclusión incide sobre las ramificaciones que tiene para los debates de admisión a la Unión Europea, lo mismo que nuevas orientaciones para el trabajo sobre ciudadanía y movimientos ambientales en el sur global.Key Words: affectenvironmental imaginaryenvironmental politicsEUGlobal SouthpostcolonialismTurkey关键词: 情感环境想像环境政治欧盟全球南方后殖民主义土耳其Palabras clave: afectoimaginario ambientalpolíticas ambientalesUESur GlobalposcolonialismoTurquía AcknowledgmentsThe author is grateful to a range of venues that hosted me to present versions of this talk, including the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, the University of Washington, and American University. I am also indebted to Deniz Özesmi for research assistance, Corin de Freitas and Cynthia Morinville for editing assistance, and to Hannah Wittman, Latha Varadarajan, Bahar Rumelili, Samer Alatout, Joel Wainwright, Cavlan Erengezgin, the EDGES research collaborative, and several anonymous reviewers who provided critical feedback on versions of this article.Notes1I do not distinguish between these concepts for purposes of this analysis even as there are certainly differences in the ways that they are used in the literature. For instance, some use emotion to refer to the cognitive realm and affect to refer to subconscious or embodied relations (see Gregg and Seigworth Citation2010; Pile Citation2010).2Maslow's hierarchy of needs thesis (Gardner Citation1995; Mawdesley Citation2004; Ignatow Citation2005) and ideas of ecological modernization (e.g., Buttel Citation2000; Adaman and Arsel Citation2005) are central to much of the research on southern environmentalisms.3The research for this article also included review of Turkish language sources, including several MA and PhD theses on relevant themes.4The authors focus on one question from the Gallup International Millennium Survey that they suggest operationalizes the core idea of EU environmental policies: "Which of the following statements do you agree with more? (1) It is more important to protect the environment than to ensure economic growth. (2) It is more important to ensure economic growth than to protect the environment. (3) Don't know."5The EU has invested millions of euros in environmental NGOs and civil society capacity building (one of eight target areas). Elsewhere, I have dealt more explicitly with effects of the EU accession process for Turkish politics (Harris 2011; see also Kubicek [2005] for EU processes and civil society in Turkey; Kousis [2004] on southern Europe; and Atalan-Helicke [2011] for changing Turkish agricultural practices).6In terms of the politics of these organizations, the migrant-related NGO can be understood as very political with respect to the Kurdish issue. The politicized nature of the narratives is clear from the data presented. The women's atelier group also involved Kurdish-speaking women, but the NGO itself is more focused on economic and livelihood concerns. Quotes from the third group—with environmental leaders and activists—are clearly identified throughout. It is also worth mentioning that Diyarbakır as a research site in itself is political, given that a range of contestations is very central to the urban fabric there (i.e., responses would be quite different if we targeted an Aegean site, or a city such as Konya). Focus groups in Urfa and Istanbul were more of a "random" sample in terms of a range of political issues.7There are other words that have slightly different connotations, for instance, doğa is more consistent with the English term nature and tabi and tabiat are older, more poetic terms that might be translated more as natural or essence. Each of these terms appears in the titles of some of the well-known NGOs dedicated to environmental issues (and also can be used to refer to environmentalists; e.g., çevreciler, doğaciler, yeşilciler).8Others have suggested that certain religious groups might be associated with environmental care (e.g., Pusch Citation2005; Ignatow 2008b).9Similar expressions have long been present in discussions of modernity in Turkey, including discussions of civility or modernity linked to Kemalism (Aydin Citation2006; Harris 2008).10A very common question in Turkey is "Nerelisiniz?" ("Where are you from?"). It is often answered with one's natal village (e.g., Urfaliyim, "I am from Urfa," or for Eskişehirliyim, "I am from Eskisehir").11According to the EU Web site (EU 2013), investment foci include civil society, disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, and the environment. This was also confirmed in interviews with NGOs across Turkey and in the southeast—a region that has been particularly targeted for such investment (Harris 2011).12Although it is beyond the scope of this article, depictions of heaven (cennet) in Ottoman miniature paintings reinforce these aesthetics as associated with the divine.13Several very important legal changes include changes to the laws regulating "associations" (dernek) in Turkey (2007 interviews, also discussed in Izci [2005, 33]). Constitutional amendments still in process and under consideration are expected to have profound political and associational implications.14For example, as Turkish activists noted on several occasions, a short-lived green party and environmental manifesto did not seem to capture the imagination of people in Turkey. Furthermore, although Turkish citizens indicate high degrees of environmental interest on national surveys, they generally exhibit low levels of participation in formal environmental organizations (Adem Citation2005). Attention to meanings and context helps to unpack these complexities. Research of this type also raises some potentially interesting issues for democracy theory—such as how EU-encouraged civil society development might affect debates concerning grassroots democracy (cf. Kubicek Citation2005; Tocci Citation2005).