1970'li Yıllarda Türkiye'de Solun Tarihine Yerelden Bakmak: Taşova Örneği

Abstract

This study aims to provide a perspective from the periphery rather than the center, from the local level rather than the cities, by conducting interviews with individuals who were involved in the organization in the district of Taşova. It focuses on the increasing politicization, socialist struggle, the history of the left, and the process leading up to the military coup on September 12th, which gained momentum in Turkey in the second half of the 1970s. The revolutionary struggle initiated by individuals and cadres who emerged from the previous decade brought together various organizations across Turkey, spreading from metropolitan areas to local units. The local organizers and leaders in the provinces brought the issues specific to their regions to the forefront, engaging in activism to address these problems. However, this period also witnessed debates within both the armed right and left factions. While the historiography of the left in Turkey has predominantly focused on the movements and leadership cadres in major cities like Ankara and Istanbul, the local socialist struggle that took place throughout the country has often been approached quantitatively, neglecting the stories of the 'ordinary leftist.' This oral history project aims to create a research field encompassing the experiences of individuals actively involved in the struggle in Taşova, ranging from their politicization in their local environment to their level of political knowledge acquired through their social circles. By obtaining results from this field, it aims to envisage how the struggle of the left unfolded in the provinces of Turkey, with a particular focus on Taşova. The predominantly leader/hero-oriented approach in writing the history of the left or prioritizing the revolutionary perceptions of factions and internal debates has resulted in the neglect of the local dimension of the revolutionary struggle. In addition to aiming to address this deficiency in historical writing, this master's thesis also seeks to reveal the similarities and differences between the center and the periphery in the context of the socialist struggle.