Beyond Populism : From Scholarship to Politics in “New” Turkey

Lately, it has become almost a cliché to label Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as populist. Turkey’s democratic backsliding under his Justice and Development Party (AKP) government is often raised as a reminder of why all who believe in democracy should protect it against populism and populists in their own societies. But this was not the case until the summer of 2013 when millions took to the streets of Turkey as part of the nationwide anti-government protests. The ruthless suppression of the protests reminded AKP’s liberal-minded supporters at home and abroad of other “populists” with a similar authoritarian streak. Once promoted as the “Nelson Mandela of Turkey”, Erdoğan was turned into its “New Sultan” almost overnight. On the first level, this dissertation examines the epistemological and ontological roots of the mainstream narrative by asking: How could Erdoğan government turn from beloved democrats into wretched populists overnight? Operationalising a post-foundationalist theory of populism that defines it as a fundamentally neutral rather than necessarily antidemocratic discourse, this dissertation demonstrates that rather than undergoing an ideological metamorphosis, the AKP government has been a consistently populist force from the beginning. In fact, it argues that the moment when the mainstream media and scholarship started to label the party as populist was roughly the time authoritarianism and nativism came to fore much more pronouncedly as its core features, effectively transforming the AKP into a populist radical right party. The reason why most accounts failed to define it as such and instead vehemently supported it as a harbinger of liberal democracy for so long is that the AKP successfully integrated the epistemological framework of their thinking into its own political branding. Promoting itself as an antipopulist “conservative democratic” party that was uniquely capable of overcoming the supposedly constitutive antagonism between the Kemalist centre and Islamist periphery in Turkish politics, the AKP perfectly synchronised itself to the post-political zeitgeist whereby the ultimate goal of politics is conceived to be the realisation of a “politics without antagonisms.” On the second level, through an immanent reading of the Laclaudian theory of populism in Turkish case, this dissertation remarks at a significant shortcoming of his model, namely its underlying “emancipatory apriorism” about populism. Insofar as Laclaudian theory tends to categorise political as such only insofar as it refers to democratising and emancipatory endeavours and renders populist reason synonymous with political one, it assigns populism an essentially emancipatory mission. This study inquiring the rightward trajectory of a populist actor seeks to overcome this gap in Laclaudian approaches to populism. Tracing the AKP’s discourse as its trajectory from populism to nativist radical-right has intensified, the empirical part of this dissertation shows that it is indeed possible for populism to take non-emancipatory forms and descent into authoritarianism. As the case of Erdoğanism demonstrates, populist discourses can reach at such an extreme point that they collapse all social differences into a singular political identity with respect to their articulation through the name of the leader. Though at this extreme point, this dissertation asserts, it would be analytically more correct to categorise such cases not as mainly populist but radical right, for it is the nativist/nationalist and authoritarian—rather than populist—features that primarily determine their discourses.Viime aikoina Turkin johtajan, Recep Tayyip Erdoğanin, harteille on usein aseteltu populistin viittaa. Turkin demokratian alamäki Erdoğanin Oikeus- ja kehityspuolueen (AKP) johdolla nostetaan usein esimerkiksi siitä, miksi kaikkien demokratian kannattajien tulisi suojella yhteiskuntaansa populismia ja populisteja vastaan. Turkissakaan tätä suojelutehtävää ei täysin tajuttu ennen vuotta 2013, kun miljoonat kansalaiset ympäri maata osoittivat mieltään kaduilla hallitusta vastaan. Mielenosoitusten armoton tukahduttaminen antoi AKP:n vapaamielisemmille kannattajille koti- ja ulkomaassa muistutuksen populismin autoritaarisesta piirteestä. Aikaisemmin “Turkin Nelson Mandelana” tunnettu Erdoğan muuttui yhdessä yössä ”Turkin uudeksi sulttaaniksi”. Väitöskirjassa pyritään avaamaan Turkin valtavirtaa edustavan narrattaviin juuria, kuten: miten on mahdollista että Erdoğanin hallitus muuttui yhdessä yössä demokratian kannattajista populismin viheliäiksi tukijoiksi. Väitöskirjan keskeinen teesi on että ideologisen metamorfoosin sijaan, AKP on ollut johdonmukaisesti populistinen jo alusta asti. Tutkimus väittää että AKP:n autoritaarinen ja nativismiin liittyvä puoli tuli esiin samoihin aikoihin kun valtamedia ja tutkijat alkoivat kutsua AKP:ta populistiseksi puolueeksi. AKP siis onnistui yhdistämään politiikassaan epistemologisen kehyksen poliittiseen brandykseen – ja juuri tämä on se syy miksi niin monet epäonnistuivat aluksi näkemään AKP:n populistisen ulottuvuuden. Sen sijaan he jopa puolustivat kiivaasti tätä Turkin uutta ”liberaalin demokratian airuetta”. Lisäksi AKP onnistui ylentämään itsensä populismin vastaiseksi, ”konservatiivis-demokraattiseksi” puolueeksi, joka oli kykenevä osittain yhdistämään Turkin politiikassa vaikuttavan vastakkainasettelun kemalistien ja islamistien välillä. Toisella tasolla, tutkimuksessa käsitellään laajasti Laclaun populismin teoriaa olemassa olevan kirjallisuuden valossa. Kun tarkastellaan AKP:n diskurssin muutosta populismista nativismi-oikeistoradikaaliksi, voidaan todeta että se on vahvistunut. Tutkimuksen empiirinen osa osoittaa, että populistiset puolueet osaavat ottaa emansipaation vastaisia muotoja ja muuttua jopa autoritaariseksi. Kuten Erdoğanismin tapaus osoittaa, populistiset diskurssit voivat jopa saavuttaa pisteen, jossa sosiaaliset erot kasaantuvat yhdeksi poliittiseksi identiteetiksi, jonka luomisessa poliittisen johtajan nimellä on suuri osa. Väitöskirjassa päädytään johtopäätökseen, että Turkin tapauksessa diskursseja määrittävät enemmän termit ”natiivi/kansallismielinen” ja autokraattinen, kuin ”populistinen”. Ja tästä syystä olisikin analyyttisesti korrektimpaa kutsua AKP:ta radikaalioikeistolaiseksi kuin populistiseksi

Leibniz hierarchy

Mestrado em MatemáticaA Lógica Algébrica Abstracta estuda o processo pelo qual uma classe de álgebras pode ser associada a uma lógica. Nesta dissertação, analisamos este processo agrupando lógicas partilhando certas propriedades em classes. O conceito central neste estudo é a congruência de Leibniz que assume o papel desempenhado pela equivalência no processo tradicional de Lindenbaum- Tarski. Apresentamos uma hierarquia entre essas classes que é designada por hierarquia de Leibniz, caracterizando as lógicas de cada classe por propriedades meta-lógicas, por exemplo propriedades do operador de Leibniz. Estudamos também a recente abordagem comportamental que usa lógicas multigénero, lógica equacional comportamental e, consequentemente, uma versão comportamental do operador de Leibniz. Neste contexto, apresentamos alguns exemplos, aos quais aplicamos esta nova teoria, capturando alguns fenómenos de algebrização que não era possível formalizar com a abordagem standard. ABSTRACT: Abstract Algebraic logic studies the process by which a class of algebras can be associated with a logic. In this dissertation, we analyse this process by grouping logics sharing certain properties into classes. The central concept in this study is the Leibniz Congruence that assumes the role developed by the equivalence in the traditional Lindenbaum-Tarski process. We show a hierarchy between these classes, designated by Leibniz hierarchy, by characterizing logics in each class by meta-logical properties, for example properties of the Leibniz operator. We also study a recent behavioral approach which uses many-sorted logics, behavioral equational logic and, consequently, a behavioral version of the Leibniz operator. In this context, we provide some examples, to which we apply this new theory, capturing some phenomena of algebraization that are not possible to formalize using the standard approach

Larry Wos - Visions of automated reasoning

This paper celebrates the scientific discoveries and the service to the automated reasoning community of Lawrence (Larry) T. Wos, who passed away in August 2020. The narrative covers Larry's most long-lasting ideas about inference rules and search strategies for theorem proving, his work on applications of theorem proving, and a collection of personal memories and anecdotes that let readers appreciate Larry's personality and enthusiasm for automated reasoning

Ghosts of Colonialism : Discursive struggles over memory and identity in Finland

Tutkielma käsittelee Suomen ja suomalaisuuden suhdetta koloniaalisuuteen eli kolonialismin jälkiin nykypäivän yhteiskunnassa ja kulttuurissa. Erityisesti tutkielma käsittelee näiden aiheiden näkymistä julkisessa keskustelussa eli sosiaalisessa mediassa, jossa vastakkaiset poliittiset ryhmät käyvät erilaisten kohujen kautta diskursiivista kamppailua muistin ja identiteetin rakentamisesta. Kontekstina toimivat vuoden 2020 kesästä alkaneet kansainväliset protestiaallot ja niitä seurannut keskustelu, joka kiinnitti huomiota rasismiin ja sen taustalla häilyviin koloniaalisiin valtarakenteisiin. Yhteiskunnallinen liikehdintä alkoi Pohjois-Amerikasta ja laajentui Länsi-Eurooppaan. Molemmissa imperialismin ja kolonisaation historia on ilmeinen, mutta keskustelu on levinnyt Suomeenkin. Tutkielma pyrkii valottamaan Suomen suhdetta koloniaalisuuteen keskustan periferiaseutuna, joka on nähtävissä kolonialismiin epäsuorasti osallisena, mutta siitä kuitenkin omalla tavallaan erillisenä tilana. Lähestymistapa on poikkitieteellinen: siinä yhdistyvät jälkikolonialistinen/dekoloniaalinen tutkimus, diskurssiteoria sekä muistin politiikan tutkimus. Tutkielmassa identifioidaan kolme ulottuvuutta, joissa koloniaalisuus tänä päivänä näkyy diskursiivisissa vastakkainasetteluissa Suomessa: tiedostaminen, sovinnonteko ja kosmeettinen dekoloniaalisuus. Näitä ulottuvuuksia edustavat mainitussa järjestyksessä kolme tapaustutkimusta: Afrikan tähti -lautapeli, kansanedustaja Pirkka-Pekka Peteliuksen julkinen anteeksipyyntö saamelaisilta sekä stereotypisoivia nimiä ja kuvastoa kantavien perinteisten kuluttajatuotteiden uudelleenbrändäys. Tutkielmassa analysoidaan myös kuhunkin tapaustutkimukseen liittyviä sosiaalisen median keskusteluketjuja. Keskeisenä analyyttisenä kehyksenä toimii Laclaun diskurssiteoria sovellettuna eritoten populistisiin liikkeisiin. Teoriassa korostuu toisaalta tiettyjen arvojen ja asenteiden lähentyminen poliittisen ryhmän sisällä ja toisaalta siitä kumpuava eri ryhmien välinen vastakkainasettelu. Tutkielma pyrkii kvalitatiivisen analyysin kautta arvioimaan näiden ilmiöiden ilmenemistä nimenomaan koloniaalisuuteen liittyvissä väittelyissä sosiaalisessa mediassa, jossa mainittujen vastakkainasetteluiden on nähty kärjistyvän. Loppupäätelmässä nähdään, että koloniaalisuuteen liittyvät teemat ovat vahvasti esillä Suomessakin ja että niistä käydään useilla eri rintamilla paljolti poliittiseen ideologiaan perustuvaa diskursiivista kamppailua, vaikka monia nyanssejakin löytyy. Suhteellisen tuore tutkimusaihe ja -näkökulma ainakin Suomen kontekstissa kaipaa laajempaa ja kattavampaa jatkotutkimusta. Näin etenkin, kun suomalaisen identiteetin muovautumiseen liittyvät väittelyt saavat koloniaalisuuden ja sen kanssa tilin tekemisen kautta yhä enemmän jalansijaa julkisessa keskustelussa.The counterintuitive relationship between Finland/Finnishness and coloniality – traces of colonialism in contemporary society and culture – is an expanding area of academic research. This thesis contributes to the field by reflecting on this relationship with a focus particularly on manifestations of issues of coloniality in public debates on social media. On these platforms, contrasting political groups engage in discursive struggles over the construction of memory and identity narratives. The context of the research is the international wave of protests that started in the summer of 2020, which attracted vast popular attention to racism and inequality, and the colonial power structures lying behind them. The social movements began in North America and expanded to Western Europe, where the history of imperialism and colonization is apparent – but the debate also reached Finland, a country that has, until recently, rarely been associated with questions of colonialism and coloniality. This thesis aims to shed light on Finland’s relationship to coloniality as a periphery-of-the-center space, which retains a share of colonial complicity, but also distinct differences vis-à-vis traditional colonial centers. The approach of the study is interdisciplinary, synthesizing features of postcolonial/decolonial theory, discourse theory and memory studies. The research identifies three of the dimensions in which coloniality is involved in discursive struggles in Finland: acknowledgement, reconciliation, and cosmetic decoloniality. In the research, these dimensions are represented, respectively, by three case studies: the Afrikan tähti boardgame, the public apology by MP Pirkka-Pekka Petelius to the indigenous Sámi people, and the rebranding of traditional consumer products exhibiting stereotypical orientalist names and imagery. Each case study includes an analysis of a social media discussion thread related to it. A central analytical framework is provided by Laclau’s discourse theory applied to populist movements, which emphasizes the convergence of attitudes and values within a group following equivalential logic, and the construction of antagonistic frontiers between different groups. By means of qualitative analysis, the thesis reflects on these processes particularly as they pertain to discursive struggles related to coloniality in Finland on social media, where such polarizing features can be identified. Finland is, in its own way, embedded in coloniality, and issues related to coloniality are an increasingly contentious topic in Finnish public debate. Negotiations and struggles over narrative and identity construction can be seen to follow ideological lines to some extent, but there is plenty of nuance in the re-negotiation of Finnish identity in the comparatively novel context of coloniality. Further, more detailed and broader study of discursive struggles related to coloniality and decoloniality is in order, as these issues become ever more prevalent in Finland

Spaces of New Labour Youth policy

This thesis examines the issue of policy change by focussing on time and space as the conditions of possibility for change. Drawing on post-structuralist theory, it interrogates existing theories of policy change with special attention paid to how these theories construct time and space. This engagement with policy theory, time and space leads to the introduction of a new theoretical logic which is termed the logic of demarcation. The logic of demarcation is then deployed along with other concepts, rooted in the post-Marxist political theory of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, such as political, social and fantasmatic logics, to investigate changes in New Labour youth policy from 1998 to 2008. The thesis focuses on the related but separable policy areas of Anti-social Behaviour and Every Child Matters and aims to explain change and/or resistance to change with respect to these policies as well as their relationship to each other. The aim is to examine the how the demarcations and exclusions that constitute these policy areas change over time. This is achieved by examining a mixture of textual data and drawing on data gained from primary interviews with key actors

Populism in the UK: A Critical Analysis of the Discursive Logics of the UK Independence Party

Recent political events in the United Kingdom have given rise to an explosion of interest in the use of the concept of populism. These applications overwhelmingly take populism as a form of ideology and in doing so make several essentialist assumptions that betray the usefulness of the term and which reduce it to a mere descriptor of particular phenomena. This work seeks to re-establish the analytical and critical value of populism using a refinement of Laclauian discourse theory via the ‘Logics’ framework of critical explanation. This piece contributes to theoretical debates by showing that populism is best understood as a political logic that organises a discourse in a particular configuration, one in which other political and fantasmatic logics must be accounted for in order to unearth and preserve the context-specificity of populism in a given case and produce an overarching substantive-critical account. In applying this framework to the case of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), this work also makes a methodological contribution to the field by providing a means to identify populist logics by coding patterns of articulation with a particular focus on ‘equivalence’ and ‘difference’. What is demonstrated is the adoption of a populist political logic by UKIP from 2011 to 2016 and in doing so extended the affective reach of a traditionally nationalistic programme. This reading expands current understandings of UKIP which overstress the ‘weighting’ of populist and nationalistic aspects against one another, and instead provides a multifaceted, diachronic portrayal that explicates, amongst other things, points of friction and symbiosis between populism and other logics such as nationalism. It is then shown how these logics were appropriated in the Brexit referendum by the ‘Vote Leave’ campaign. Finally, these cases are utilised to re-evaluate ongoing theoretical debates in populism research

A short overview of Hidden Logic

In this paper we review a hidden (sorted) generalization of k-deductive systems - hidden k-logics. They encompass deductive systems as well as hidden equational logics and inequational logics. The special case of hidden equational logics has been used to specify and to verify properties in program development of behavioral systems within the dichotomy visible vs. hidden data. We recall one of the main applications of this work - the study of behavioral equivalence. Related results are obtained through combinatorial properties of the Leibniz congruence relation. In addition we obtain a few new developments concerning hidden equational logic, namely we present a new characterization of the behavioral consequences of a theory

An order-theoretic analysis of interpretations among propositional deductive systems

In this paper we study interpretations and equivalences of propositional deductive systems by using a quantale-theoretic approach introduced by Galatos and Tsinakis. Our aim is to provide a general order-theoretic framework which is able to describe and characterize both strong and weak forms of interpretations among propositional deductive systems also in the cases where the systems have different underlying languages

Technology enhanced learning as transformative innovation: a note on the enduring myth of TEL

The purpose of this paper is to offer a critical insight into the ubiquity of technology enhanced learning. The use of technology in higher education is underpinned by a promise that technology will enhance teaching and learning despite an apparent lack of systematic evidence. This raises questions of how this enhancement agenda persists, and of how technology has established a position of dominance within higher education. This orthodoxy is evident across a range of relevant actors, from commercial interests, universities, government, academics, and technologists. This paper utilises a critical logics approach, which problematises the competing interests of these different actors, exploring ways in which the social, political and fantasmatic practices between these actors contribute to the ubiquity and dominance of technology enhanced learning. This paper argues that the technology enhanced project resists in-depth critique, with the repeated failure of technology to transform education attributed towards academics, students and institutions