In her article, Gülseren Onanç reflects on the state of democracy in both Russia and Turkey, focusing on political figures like Putin and Erdogan and their impact. She also highlights the role of women in civil society and the importance of their participation in democratic processes.
Gülseren Onanç
Natalia said, ‘We are intelligent, but you are freer.” During our delightful conversation, I learned that we lived in Moscow during the same years. Natalia is from Russia and has a background in international relations, while I, a Turkish national, have pursued a master’s degree in business administration. Our paths crossed in Moscow between 1991 and 1994. Unbeknown to each other, fueled by the excitement of our twenties, we dreamt of a world becoming more peaceful after the end of the Cold War and the potential for the Soviet Union’s transition to democracy post-Perestroika.
Now, 30 years later, both of us find ourselves in Florence at the European University Institute, pursuing the dream of a more peaceful world and learning from the remarkable accumulation of knowledge here.
The world, Russia, and Turkey have changed significantly in these 30 years. Over this period, Turkey has leaned more towards authoritarianism, while Russia has struggled to transition to democracy. The world seems to be moving towards a new bipolar or multipolar order, with countries turning inward and tensions rising between the West and others. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has disrupted all balances. Putin, who controls Russia as the sole power, eliminating or neutralizing all actors of opposition, is preparing to become Russia’s president for the fifth time in the elections this March.
It was announced last week that Alexey Navalny, Putin’s most visible and persistent political critic, and the main opposition leader, died in prison. Navalny, aged 47, was arrested upon his return to his country and was sentenced to 30 years in 2021. Everyone knew that Navalny would not be free during Putin’s presidency.
In Turkey, for almost the entire last 30 years, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s influence has been apparent. Starting with the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality mayoralty in 1994, the political process evolved into the establishment of the AKP (Justice and Development Party). Erdoğan has gradually taken control of the institutions of the democratic republic, remaining in power for 22 years. We witness Erdoğan’s transformation into a figure of Putin.
Last week, I attended two events in Florence and Rome.
The first was a day-long interactive meeting at the European University Institute’s Transnational Governance School. The conference, which focused on nonviolent movements as democratic innovations, had participants from Italy, England, Greece, India, Nigeria, and Turkey. We discussed the potential of nonviolent civil disobedience and summarized it as pushing the system towards change to safeguard active individuals’ fundamental rights and freedoms. We, four people coming from Turkey, shared how the peaceful and nonviolent Gezi protests were hindered and demonized and how individuals like Osman Kavala and other Gezi detainees were punished.
Spanish participant explained how actors organize in the process of winning local elections. A young lady from Italy, an environmental activist in the international movement Extinction Rebellion’s Bologna unit, shared how they applied pressure on regional governments to adopt environmental policies through various nonviolent civil disobedience actions, such as blocking roads and hunger strikes. A women academician, who has been living in Cuba for a long time, talked about the silent resistance of those organizing bicycle tours and providing tampons to women against the oppressive regime in Cuba. In a time when political mechanisms are failing, and trust in politics is dwindling, we gained a better understanding of how non-political civil opposition can be creative and vital for democracies through examples.
Did Europe die?
Despite a woman expressing admiration for Cuba’s dynamism and stating, ‘Europe is dead,’ a conducive environment governed by the rule of law is still necessary for the success of peaceful, creative actions. Despite some shortcomings, Europe remains the world’s most democratic region. At least here at the university, ways to revitalize civil disobedience and improve democracy are being explored.
In Turkey, the women’s movement is fighting to defend democracy
As Turkish women, we have been organizing nonviolent civil disobedience actions for years as a vital reflex. In the last decade, despite being banned in Turkey for years and facing all the pressure from the police, the feminist women’s movement has managed to organize thousands of women for March 8 Night Walks. After Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, women activists and lawyers organized demonstrations, conducted social media campaigns, and held events in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. They organize rallies and meetings to oppose changes to the Civil Code imposed by the regressive religious mindset.
As individuals coming from Turkey, we left the meeting once again in awe of the resistance of the women’s movement in Turkey. As an experienced activist in the women’s movement for twenty years, I thought that even though this government tries to silence opposition voices and marginalize individuals like us, this process has developed our creative resistance capacity.
“Turks are freer than Russian”
When Natalia says, ‘You are freer from us,’ this is exactly what she means. She refers to the organized opposition culture that is absent in Russia. As a Russian woman, she admires our opposition, street protests, and civil resistance, saying it does not exist in Russia. Therefore, she says, ‘That’s why you are freer than us.’
G7 countries discuss the role of women in solving problems in the Global South
The other meeting I attended last week was at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The meeting was organized in collaboration between two civil organizations and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to contribute to Italy’s G7 term presidency. The title of the meeting was the involvement of women in the Global South in the process of solving fundamental difficulties. Participants included bureaucrats, ambassadors, representatives from the central bank, civil society representatives, company representatives, and experts.
If I were to summarize the essence of the meeting in one sentence, it will the following; the key to democracy and progress lies in the active participation of women in civil society and politics.
Greetings from Florence to the women advocating for democracy, liberating us, and steadfastly defending rights in my homeland and the world.