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Article Hagia Sophia's Reconversion: Turkey's De-Europeanization through Lefebvre's Spatial Triad(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2026) Akdemir, Tugba Gurcel; Resuloglu, CilgaHagia Sophia, as a monument of enduring historical and cultural significance, has long stood at the intersection of religious, spatial, and political transformations. Its successive conversions - from basilica to mosque, from museum to mosque again - constitute the layers of its multidimensional character and reflect its symbolic role beyond mere architecture as a palimpsest of meanings. Throughout history, sovereignty over Hagia Sophia has embodied hegemonic power, with its spatial reconfigurations serving political concerns and ideological narratives. This article argues that Turkey's recent de-Europeanization is materially and symbolically manifested in the 2020 reconversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque. By situating this transformation within Lefebvre's triadic spatial model-perceived space, conceived space, and lived space, the study conceptualizes Hagia Sophia as a paradigmatic site where space, power, and politics intersect, offering an interdisciplinary framework that links the politics of Europeanization with the spatial production of power.Article Citation - WoS: 11Citation - Scopus: 14Informal Payments in Health Systems: Purpose and Occurrences in Turkey(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2015) Tengilimoglu, Dilaver; Guzel, Alper; Toygar, Anil; Akinci, Fevzi; Dziegielewski, Sophia F.Informal payments constitute a significant portion of out-of-pocket payments in health systems, especially in developing countries. This study examined the current status of informal payments in Turkey and the opinions, attitudes, and behavior of individuals toward informal payments. To examine this concept, 1,033 residents in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, were surveyed. The 28-item questionnaire used in data collection was developed based on previous research and expert opinions. The data analysis revealed that approximately 29% of the study participants made informal payments in return for the medical service they received. Three out of 4 people who made informal payments were from a low-income group. Informal payments were made in the form of cash prior to medical procedures and also as gifts following the procedures. Future recommendations for health policymakers include designing a new patient copay mechanism where informal payments can be effectively incorporated into the formal payment system, assistance to low-income individuals, and improvement in current medical staff salaries that would discourage taking such payments.Article Citation - WoS: 4Citation - Scopus: 9Post-Truth Politics in the 2017 Euro-Turkish Crisis(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2019) Yilmaz, GozdeThe year 2017 constituted a period of deep crisis and mutual distrust in relations between Turkey and Europe. During the referendum campaign on a proposed change to the constitution, the Turkish government reacted harshly to European countries that prohibited politicians campaigning in their territories. The key members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi - AKP) also met the European response with enmity. A detailed analysis of the discourse of the AKP's key cadre during the 2017 crisis reveals element of a new phenomenon which is emerging in the politics of many countries: post-truth.Article Health Beliefs and Attitudes: a Comparison Between Turkey and Palestine(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2018) Menawi, Wafaa Allam; Tengilimoglu, Dilaver; Dziegielewski, Sophia F.The purpose of this study is to identify the beliefs and attitudes that influence health-related behavior while comparing two countries that can have different political and economic structures. This study also gathers both Turkish and Palestinian citizens' beliefs and attitudes towards health determinants. To assess and compare citizens' attitudes toward health care and health determinants a total of 4,100 questionnaires were distributed, whereas 2,600 were distributed in Turkey, and another 1,500 questionnaires in the Palestine. According to the research, the individuals surveyed in Turkey noted that smoking, stress, and getting access to a medical institution were noted as the most influential determinants which affect their health; whereas, the people of Palestine thought that income status, and educational levels were the most influential factors in health. In addition, it was found that there were some statistically significant differences between participants' responses in Turkey and Palestine; however, what both samples shared was that economic factors were an important factor affecting health beliefs and attitudes, regardless of where a participant lived. Finally, comparisons and future recommendations are made to improve health-related beliefs, attitudes and behaviors in both countries.Article Citation - WoS: 2Citation - Scopus: 2Legislative Committees in the Turkish Parliament: Performing Procedural Minimum or Effective Scrutiny?(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2023) Bektas, Eda; Political Science and Public AdministrationThis study examines committee influence on government bills during the AKP's 2011-2015 majority government term in Turkey, an era characterised by democratic backsliding. It explores whether committees introduce more substantial amendments to government bills when they draw on their scrutiny powers (i.e. hearing sponsoring ministers, hearing stakeholders, forming subcommittees, secondary committee review) providing them diverse information and policy expertise. I hypothesise and test under what conditions committees use these competencies to initiate substantial changes. Overall findings based on a novel dataset indicate that legislative committees introduce more substantial amendments to government bills when they consult with sponsoring ministers and stakeholders. These findings suggest that the formal capabilities of legislative committees provide opportunities for legislators to influence government legislation even in adverse political contexts, as these mechanisms limit the government's ability to impose its legislative agenda unilaterally. It contributes to the debates on strengthening legislatures for effective government scrutiny.Article Citation - WoS: 6Citation - Scopus: 6On Social Integration Process With Refugees in Turkey: How Can Ngos Be More Effective?(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2021) Seyidov, Ilgar; Seyidov, Ilgar; Seyidov, Ilgar; Public Relations and Advertising; Public Relations and AdvertisingAccording to the statistics of UN, more than 6.5 million people have been internally displaced since the Syrian crisis in 2011. There are also more than 13.1 million people in need in Syria. Approximately 5.6 million people have become refugees in various countries, mostly in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan. Among the countries welcoming displaced Syrians, Turkey is at the top, hosting over 3.5 million refugees. Governmental agencies, and I/NGOs (non-governmental organisations) are working together to meet the needs of Syrian refugees in Turkey. In this context, the social integration of refugees into the host community has become prominent. This study is focused on the positive and negative aspects of this social integration process in Turkey. By positive aspect, the positive contributions were meant, on the other hand, negative aspects are used to illustrate the shortcomings of the social integration process. In the research, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with the supervisors of refugee- oriented programmes implemented by NGOs. The focus is on the evaluation of social integration and the role of civil society organisations in this process. The main purpose is to discuss the current situation and to elicit different perspectives on the development of social integration process.Article Citation - WoS: 38Citation - Scopus: 43An Unfinished Grassroots Populism: the Gezi Park Protests in Turkey and Their Aftermath(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2015) Ozen, HayriyeFocusing on the Gezi protests, this study addresses two questions: How did a particular struggle against the demolition of a park spontaneously turn into nationwide mass protests? And why was this mobilisation unable to transform itself into a popular counter-hegemonic movement? Drawing on the Laclauian concept of populism, I demonstrate that Gezi mobilised various groups by turning into a symbol of the repressive responses of the hegemonic power to various social demands. This popular mobilisation could not go beyond a conjunctural experience due to its inability to unify heterogeneous protesters and to respond effectively to the counter-strategies of the hegemonic power.Article Citation - WoS: 14Citation - Scopus: 14The Urbanization Policy of Turkey: an Uneasy Symbiosis of Unimplemented Policy With Centralized Pragmatic Interventions(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2019) Sahin, Savas ZaferRegarding urbanization policy in Turkey, one can observe how policy-making efforts continuously have moved away from transnational influences and reverted to more pragmatic, national-oriented practices in the last three decades. The results of different attempts to make sustainable urbanization policy for Turkey are vivid examples of how aspirations to reframe national urban development pattern through policy transfer failed and a nationalistic, pragmatic and authoritarian intervention, each time more hard-hitting than before, emerged with dire consequences. Occasionally, distinctive characteristics of the Turkish experience manifested itself in the uneasy symbiosis of policy-making with neo-liberal practices in cities. Using qualitative methodology, this study provides an account of Turkey's urbanization policy-making episodes in the last decade to show how consecutive attempts to use policy learning and participation as leverage gradually alienated policy intermediaries and allowed strengthening of neo-liberal interventions in urban sphere.Article Citation - WoS: 7Citation - Scopus: 5Use/Misuse of Chinese Bri Investment? Bri-Related Crony Capitalism in Turkey(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2023) Yildirim, Nilgun Elikucuk; Yilmaz, GozdeCrony capitalism as a type of capitalism entailing the close relations of political authorities and business circles based on mutual profit maximization is not a new phenomenon in Turkey. However, crony relations have accelerated with the Justice and Development Party (Adalet Kalkinma Partisi - AKP) rule. Despite growing scholarly work on crony relations in the AKP era, the literature remains inward-oriented without analysing the external dimension of crony capitalism, which this article intends to alleviate by providing an analysis of crony capitalism and bringing back the external dimension through an analysis of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)-related crony relations. It argues that the case of Turkey demonstrates how the BRI is used to feed instrumental cronyism without the promotion of China and how recipient countries use and misuse Chinese BRI investments to create alternative resources for the government's cronies.Article Citation - WoS: 8Citation - Scopus: 6Constructing Containment: Thompson-Starrett, the Cesme Beach Houses, and the Geopolitics of American Engineering in Cold War Turkey(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2020) Tunc, Tanfer Emin; Tunc, GokhanFor the first half of the twentieth century, Thompson-Starrett and Co., a New York-based American engineering, construction, and contracting firm, dominated the building scene. In operation between 1899 and 1968, it was a leader in skyscraper construction and large-scale projects, and literally built the New York skyline. It designed and constructed the tallest skyscraper of the era, the Woolworth Building, as well as other iconic Manhattan structures such as the Equitable Building, the American Stock Exchange, the New York Municipal Building, and the Claridge, Algonquin, Roosevelt, St. Regis, and Waldorf-Astoria Hotels. A formidable pioneering force in structural engineering a hundred years ago, Thompson-Starrett is, by and large, forgotten today, especially its post-World War II ventures in Turkey, such as the Sariyar Dam and the cesme Beach Houses, a luxury beachfront cooperative located in Ilica, Izmir. However, what would prompt the engineering firm responsible for the Woolworth Building to take on the road and utility construction and project management of a Turkish summer resort? The answer lies in Cold War geopolitics and booming private enterprise, both of which, in the 1950s, converged in Turkey, relied on American engineering, and involved a complex process of Americanization.
