Youth activists and occupygezi: patterns of social change in public policy and in civic and political activism in Turkey

Abstract

The research puzzle that our paper focuses on is the struggle of youth organizations to have their voice heard in public policy processes. We examine the implications of occupygezi in establishing or not a new relationship with the political domain and policy makers in Turkey. By drawing on a policy analysis framework this paper looks at whether occupygezi opened up new windows of opportunities for social and political change for youth activists in Turkey. In doing so we rely upon the results of a number of in-depth interviews conducted in 2015/16 in Turkey with representatives of youth organizations.