- Democratic Theory, Social Theory, Political Theory, Critical Theory, Populism, Comparative Constitutionalism, and 28 moreConstitution Making, Constituent Power, Secularism, Claude Lefort, Jacques Rancière, Carl Schmitt, Political Sociology, Sociology of Law, Turkish politics, Hans Lindahl, Constitutionalism, Legal Philosophy, Constitutional Theory, Sovereignty, Constitutional Law, Legal Theory, Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, Radical Democracy, Critical Legal Theory, Giorgio Agamben, Modern Turkey, Turkish and Middle East Studies, Agamben, Democratization, Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt, Agonistic Pluralism, Constitutional Law Theory, and Hannah Arendtedit
- Ertuğ Tombuş is a Senior Research Associate at the Department of Social Sciences, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, and... moreErtuğ Tombuş is a Senior Research Associate at the Department of Social Sciences, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, and the deputy director of the Center for Comparative Research on Democracy. Between 2017-2020, he was the academic coordinator of the Blickwechsel: Contemporary Turkey Studies Program at HU-Berlin. Before joining HU-Berlin, he taught at Columbia University, The New School for Liberal Arts, Eugene Lang College, Western Connecticut State University, and the State University of New York. He is the managing editor of Constellations: An International Journal of Critical and Democratic Theory since 2009. He was a visiting research fellow at Northwestern University and Yale University. He holds a Ph.D. M.Sc and B.Sc in political science and M.Phil. in Sociology.
His primary teaching and research areas are theories of democracy, politics and law, theories of constitution-making, comparative constitutionalism, populism, secularism and its critics, sociology of law, political sociology, contemporary social theory and Turkish politics.edit
The collapse of communism, and the consequent liberalization of religious field, has unleashed a new process of re-imagining state-church relations. The emerging relationships between the two, however, have been neither rapid nor smooth.... more
The collapse of communism, and the consequent liberalization of religious field, has unleashed a new process of re-imagining state-church relations. The emerging relationships between the two, however, have been neither rapid nor smooth. Instead, they have developed in a peace meal fashion and often as a result of intense processes of contestation and negotiation between relevant political and religious actors. What are the main indices of the new institutional arrangements? What do they seek to achieve and with what results? More specifically, how do they accommodate specific political and Islamic groups? And what facilitates a certain consensus on the most appropriate institutional choices in each specific context?
Research Interests: Religion, Comparative Religion, Sociology of Religion, Islamic Law, Constitutional Law, and 65 moreComparative Politics, Instructional Design, Peace and Conflict Studies, History of Religion, Human Rights Law, Human Rights, Democratic Theory, Religion and Politics, Albanian Studies, Balkan Studies, Islamic Contemporary Studies, Democratization, Muslim Family Law, State Formation, Islam and Human Rights, Nationalism, Bosnia, Religious Pluralism, Legal Pluralism, Islam in Europe, Bulgaria, Turkish and Middle East Studies, National Identity, Nationalism And State Building, Turkey, Islamic Studies, Secularization, Muslim Minorities, Balkan Politics, Conflict Resolution, Conflict Management, Muslims in Europe, Politics of Secularism, Islam in Turkey, Ottoman Balkans, Islamic History, Islam, Ethnic Conflict, Democracy, Secularisms and Secularities, Modern Turkey, Muslim-Christian Relation, Minorities in Turkey, Ethnic Conflict and Civil War, Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, Pluralism, Conflict of Laws, Political Islam, Albania, Religious Studies, Balkans, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Secularism, Islam and Secularism, Western Balkans, Muslims, Social Conflict, Laicismo, Religious Conflict, Religious Freedom, Ethnicity and National Identity, Secular, Post Conflict Issues, Nation building and State making, and Contemporary Muslim society
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This chapter examines the constitution-making processes in the history of the Turkish Republic to provide an alternative explanation for the authoritarian foundations of Turkish constitutions different from the established explanations... more
This chapter examines the constitution-making processes in the history of the Turkish Republic to provide an alternative explanation for the authoritarian foundations of Turkish constitutions different from the established explanations based on the center-periphery dichotomy or military tutelage argument. Drawing on Claude Lefort’s theory of modern democracy, the chapter argues that the dominant constitution-making practice in Turkey has been the hegemonic-totalitarian logic, which causes the performative closing of the empty place of power by one actor that claims to exclusively represent the people’s will. This embodiment claim constitutes the authoritarian foundation of Turkish constitutions. These embodiment claims were made by the Republican Peopleʼs Party for the 1924 Constitution, by the military following a coup for the 1961 and 1982 Constitutions, and by the Justice and Development Party as a populist actor holding the parliamentary majority in the 2007, 2010, and 2017 amendment processes
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The article has several theses. First we propose that there is a new method of constitution-making today, the two-stage, post-sovereign one perfected in South Africa. Second, we admit the path-dependent nature, and difficult... more
The article has several theses. First we propose that there is a new method of constitution-making today, the two-stage, post-sovereign one perfected in South Africa. Second, we admit the path-dependent nature, and difficult pre-conditions, of this method. Third, we maintain that even when the full method is unlikely in a given context, its legitimating principles nevertheless can play a role through international dissemination. We explore that possibility in the context of the projected comprehensive reform of Turkey, and the constitutional revolution in Egypt. It is our belief that in these contexts one can learn both from successes of the new method and also from its failures typified by the Hungarian case that we briefly present. We are unfortunately not optimistic about the success of the new method especially where actors maintain their strong belief in the constituent power of the popular sovereign. This is likely to be the case in revolutions, but can happen in reform or even during the last state of the post-sovereign method itself.
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Department of Sociology, the New School for Social Research, New York, N.Y.; ertugtombus@gmail.com
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In this workshop, we plan to explore the complex interactions between social policy choices and types of political regimes around the world, with a focus on putting the case of Turkey in a comparative perspective. In particular, we aim to... more
In this workshop, we plan to explore the complex interactions between social policy choices and types of political regimes around the world, with a focus on putting the case of Turkey in a comparative perspective. In particular, we aim to concentrate on the changing political sociology and/or political economy of social rights in countries that experience democratic backsliding. We welcome empirically grounded and theoretically informed papers focusing on these intricate interactions addressing the following themes: i) Social Policy and Political Regime, ii) Social Policy, Social Rights and Constitutionalism, and iii) Interaction of Social, Civil and Political Rights
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Effective urban governance is essential in responding to the challenges of inequality, migration, public health, housing, security, and climate change. Reclaiming Democracy in Cities frames the city as a political actor in its own right,... more
Effective urban governance is essential in responding to the challenges of inequality, migration, public health, housing, security, and climate change. Reclaiming Democracy in Cities frames the city as a political actor in its own right, exploring the city's potential to develop deliberative and participatory practices which help inform innovative democratic solutions to modern day challenges. Bringing together expertise from an international selection of scholars from various fields, this book begins with three chapters which discuss the theoretical idea of the democratic city and the real-world applicability of such a model. Part II discusses new and innovative democratic practices at the local level and asks in what way these practices help us to rethink democratic politics, institutions, and mechanisms in order to move toward a more egalitarian, pluralist, and inclusive direction. Drawing on the Istanbul municipal elections and the Kurdish municipal experience, Part III focuses on the question of whether cities and local governments can lead to the emergence of strong democratic forces that oppose authoritarian regimes. Finally, Part IV discusses urban solidarity networks and collaborations at both the local level and beyond the nation, questioning whether urban solidarity networks and alliances with civil society or transnational city networks can create alternative ways of thinking about the city as a locus of democracy. This edited volume will appeal to academics, researchers, and advanced students in the fields of urban studies, particularly those with an interest in democratic theory; local democracy; participation and municipalities. It will also be relevant for practitioners of local governments, NGOs, and advocacy groups and activists working for solidarity networks between cities.