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The Securitisation of News: A Thin Veneer of Democracy

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The Securitisation of News in Turkey

Abstract

The securitisation of news in Turkey, and its steep decline since 2012, is an indicator of the authoritarian drift now apparent in Turkish politics. Therefore, it is important to understand the nuances of the situation because this trend is significant for Turkey’s bilateral and institutional relationships. This chapter will establish definitions of “journalism”, “securitisation” and “authoritarianism” before outlining that the AKP has now securitised all forms of political opposition in Turkey, including journalism, in order to justify imprisoning them in such large numbers. It also details the methodology of the volume in terms of qualitative data collection and thematic data analysis.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In readings.

  2. 2.

    “Erdoğan Turkish strongman under corruption cloud.” Agence France Presse, January 20, 2014.

  3. 3.

    http://platform24.org/en/media-monitoring.

  4. 4.

    The Guardian, Erdoğan ends UK state visit by calling jailed journalists “terrorists”; Turkish president ignores call from Theresa May not to lose sight of defending democracy 15 May 2018. See Channel 4 News, Matt Frei May 16, 2018, https://www.channel4.com/news/Erdoğan-challenged-on-turkey-elections.

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Martin, N. (2020). The Securitisation of News: A Thin Veneer of Democracy. In: The Securitisation of News in Turkey. The Palgrave Macmillan Series in International Political Communication. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49381-3_2

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