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World Congress of Political Science, organised by the International Political Science Association (IPSA), isone of the highly important settings for any level of social science researchers who may present their research, expand their networks, attend fruitful scholarly discussions and have the opportunity to observe new approaches in their specific fields. It is also extremely important for host countries to show their organisational abilities. In 2016, İstanbul was appointed as a host place for the 24th World Congress of Political Science for the first time, but it lost its unique chance.
The association announced that the congress will be relocated from İstanbul to a new host city in Europe due the deterioration of the security situation in Turkey. According to the association, the decision to relocate the congress was made on February 25 by the IPSA Executive Committee in coordination with the Turkish Political Science Association and the local organizing committee in Turkey and the new host city will be announced by March 25. The announcement also noted that the decision to relocate the Congress has been taken due the deterioration of the security situation in Turkey and the region. They have also concluded that they can no longer hold the conference in İstanbul as they cannot guarantee the safety of all participants and provide an environment favourable to the exchange of intellectual ideas. The decision has been made in absolute coordination with the Local Organizing Committee in Istanbul and IPSA remains firm in its commitment to the Turkish political science community.
Currently, it seems that the decision of the association is very serious and it is almost absolute that Turkey has no chance to retrieve the associations decision about relocating the congress. However, at the first glance, the issue seems crystal clear, there are some points should be clarified after the ideas that are rushing around like a blue arsed fly in both Turkish and international academic environments.
One Right
It is obvious that Turkey is not an absolutely safe country. In less than a year, Turkey has seen five terrorist attacks. The first took place on June 5 at a rally of People's Democratic Party (HDP) in Diyarbakir right before the June 7, 2015 elections. This claimed two lives and injured more than 100 people. The second targeted young activists gathered at a cultural centre in the predominately Kurdish south eastern town of Suruç and preparing to deliver aid to the previously besieged Syrian city of Kobane on July 20, 2015. This blast claimed 32 lives and injured over 100 people. The third, the bloodiest terrorist attack in the history of the modern Turkey’s, occurred during a rally organised by Kurdish and left wing political parties, trade unions, and civil society organisations in Ankara on October 10. This incident killed 102 and wounded hundreds of people. Fourth, at Istanbul's historic peninsula, whose skyline is dotted with Ottoman and Byzantine architecture and which encompasses both the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, was shaken on January 12 by a heinous terrorist attack. In this attack, unfortunately 10 people lost their lives. At least 28 people have been killed and at least 60 injured in a rush-hour car bombing targeting military personnel in the heart of the Turkish capital. To crown them all, Interior Minister of Turkey announced that Turkish police have prevented 18 suicide attacks since the beginning of 2016, on February 29.
In this respect, there is no need to make any remarks that the relocating decision is absolutely right since Turkey is not enough safe to host more than three thousand scholars, for more than a week.
Two Wrongs
In this case, it is possible to argue two different wrongs. First of all, although, it is obvious that Turkey is currently not that safe, the manner of the associations’s declaration and attitude of indifference to both Turkish collages and citizens resembles a bit classical orientalist approach against the unsafe third world country. This means that the declaration both leaves Turkey with its curly problems alone, and puts it into the same basket with all other unsafe countries with a classical Western approach.
Second one, as we know from the inner side gossips, one of the fundamental reasons of relocation is lack of freedom of thought and illogical investigations, prosecutions of and pressures on the academics who signed the famous petition denouncing military operations against Kurdish civilians in the south-east of the country. Although, IPSA’s President brought out a massage by addressing to promote collaboration between scholars in emerging and established democracies and to support the academic freedom needed for social sciences to flourish, it is very light.
Many Traitors?
Likewise many issues, which make the hegemonic ruler cadre unhappy, after this case pro-government newspapers and representatives of GONGO’s make Turkish Political Science Association (TPSA) board member, who are working coordinal with IPSA, scapegoat for public lynch. They start to announce their names with clear photos with heading of “vileness”. They claim that the TPSA’s board members have informed IPSA committee against Turkish government and made the issue political. It is true that the members of the board, naturally, could not give an absolute grantee for any totally safe conditions, but this does not make necessary to show them as a traitor. Moreover, some of the pro-government scholars accuse them to make the issue subject of the politics which is obviously meaningless compare as a matter of course. At this point it should be noted that, currently it is one of the easiest thing to be a traitor if you are doing something that are against the AKP and President Erdoğan’s interests
All in all, at the end of the day, it seems that although 24th IPSA World Congress of Political Science will be held in a “safe” country, Turkey will maintain its discussable position into the different sections of the congress.
