To Be the Voice of Truth Amidst Injustice

In this article, I attempt to tell my personal story as an academic in an authoritarian society where loyalty to the ruling elites is rewarded and criticism is regarded as some sort of betrayal.

I am an independent researcher and I write about what is really going on in the country rather than drawing a picture of an “imaginary flawless Turkey”. My research focuses on Turkish politics, democracy, human rights in general and rising authoritarianism in particular.

My academic journey as an independent researcher started in 2015, the year that I earned my PhD degree from Fatih University. Following my graduation Turkey witnessed a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016 and Fatih University got closed down.

Turkey witnessed the bloodiest coup attempt in its modern history on July 15, 2016. Ankara declared a state of emergency that continued for two years. The event was a turning point in Turkish political history. On July 23, 2016, a decree went into effect ordering the closure of 15 universities including Fatih University in connection with a state of emergency. As a graduate of a university that was affiliated with the so-called “FETO”, I have been demonized and I have faced lots of unfair treatments in my job applications. As a political scientist who focus on democratic backsliding and human rights abuses in Turkey I am well aware of the fact that I am among the “persona non grata” researchers in the eyes of today’s hegemonic academic establishment. 

The pseudo-academic community that invades a large portion of Turkish academia consists of a big group of scholars that is characterized by having close and most of the time even organic ties with the government. Today’s pseudo-academic community prefers to keep silent about the ongoing human rights violations and democratic weakening in the country to strengthen their academic and employment positions. In such an environment, teaching in a state university has become almost impossible for the academics that do not support the ruling elites.

The image shows the cover of my first book: https://www.amazon.com/Image-Undesired-Citizens-Turkey-Comparative/dp/1639026231/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1644655245&refinements=p_27%3ABegum+BURAK&s=books&sr=1-1&text=Begum+BURAK