ONLINE CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN NEOLIBERAL AUTHORITARIANISM: TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF EKŞİ SÖZLÜK POSTS ON THE BOĞAZİÇİ UNIVERSITY PROTESTS

Date

2025-5

Author

Önal, Leyla

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This thesis investigates the dynamics of online civic engagement in contemporary Turkey, focusing on the Boğaziçi University protests as discussed on Ekşi Sözlük, a prominent Turkish social media platform. The thesis situates the protests within the broader socio-political context of neoliberal authoritarianism and growing restrictions on academic freedom. Beginning with the top-down appointment of a non-elected rector in 2021, the Boğaziçi University protests catalyzed sustained opposition among students and faculty, symbolizing broader dissent against authoritarian encroachments on academic freedom on university autonomy. The thesis employs a textual analysis of user-generated content on Ekşi Sözlük, examining how themes and discursive positions are built around the framing of the protests and reflecting broader socio political identities. Drawing from new social movements theory and constructivist theories of identity, the thesis reveals how civic engagement—particularly among youth—has shifted from traditional organizational frameworks to decentralized, online platforms. The thesis highlights how Ekşi Sözlük serves not only as a space for political participation and civic engagement but also as an archive of collective memory, providing insights into the evolution of public sentiment over time. The findings contribute to the understanding of online activism in semi-authoritarian contexts, where digital platforms become critical venues for civic engagement. Moreover, the findings highlight the plurality of identity positions, questioning the approaches to the Turkish socio-political framing the latter solely from a polarization perspective. The Ekşi Sözlük posts on the protests reflect how different identity positions are constructed in a reflexive manner through engagement with each other.

Subject Keywords

Online civic engagement, Online activism, Identity politics, Social media, Youth/student movements

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/114542

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis