Islamism, Trade Unionism and Civil Society: The Case of Hak-İş Labour Confederation in Turkey

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes The authors are grateful for the helpful editing of Riki Marten of the Edith Cowan University of Western Australia and visiting researcher at Sakarya University. They also thank Salim Uslu and Osman Yıldız of Hak-İş for their help in the research. For recent studies on Turkish labour see, Ü.C. Sakallıoğlu, 'Labour and state in Turkey: 1960–1980', Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.26, No.4 (1992), pp.712–28; F. Ahmad, 'The development of working class consciousness in Turkey', in Z. Lockman (ed.) Workers and the Working Classes in the Middle East (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994), pp.75–94; G. Berik E. Özdalga, 'Civil society and its enemies', in E. Özdalga Ş. Mardin, 'Civil society and Islam', in J.A. Hall (ed.) Civil Society: Theory, History, Comparison (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1995), pp.301–25. B. Lewis, 'State and civil society under Islam', New Perspectives Quarterly, Vol.7, No.2 (1990), pp.38–9. E. Shils, 'The virtue of civil society', Government and Opposition, Vol.26, No.1 (1991), p.7. D.F. Eickelman, 'Foreword', in A.R. Norton (ed.) Civil Society in the Middle East, Vol.2 (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1995), p.x. E. Bellin, 'Civil society: effective tool of analysis for Middle East politics', Political Science and Politics, Vol.27, No.3 (1994), p.510. C. Kukathas, 'Islam, democracy, and civil society', in A. Yayla (ed.) Islam, Civil Society and Market Economy (Ankara: Liberté, 1999), p.30. Michael Walzer states that civil society has its origins in the struggle for religious freedom, see M. Walzer, 'The civil society argument', in C. Mouffe (ed.) Dimensions of Radical Democracy (London: Verso, 1992), p.101. Surely that is tantamount to saying that religious organizations are automatically a part of civility. B. Lewis, 'A Historical Overview', Journal of Democracy, Vol.7, No.2 (1996), p.52. See H.M. Yavuz, 'Political Islam and the Welfare (Refah) Party in Turkey', Comparative Politics, (1997) pp.63–82; Z. Öniş, 'The political economy of Islamic resurgence in Turkey: the rise of the Welfare Party in perspective', Third World Quarterly, 18 (1997), pp.743–66; and B. Duran, 'Approaching the Kurdish Question via Adil Düzen: An Islamist formula of the Welfare Party for Ethnic Coexistence', Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 18 (1998), pp.111–28. A. Buğra, 'Labour, Capital, and Religion', p.196 incorrectly states that at the time of Hak-İş's foundation in 1976, the government consisted of CHP (Republican People's Party) and MSP (National Salvation Party). This coalition government was in power in 1974. Similarly, Cam states that Hak-İş was set up in 1983, see S. Cam, 'Neo-liberalism and labour within the context of an "emergent market" economy in Turkey', Capital Milli Güvenlik Kurulu) made recommendations to the government about measures to be taken against the increasing anti-secular activities. This military intervention brought down the Welfare-led coalition government, and later the Welfare Party was closed down by the Turkish Constitutional Court for its anti-secular activities. Quoted in Hak-İş 16. Kuruluş Yıldönümü Etkinlikleri (Ankara: Hak-İş Yayınları, 1991), p.96. Hak-İş, No.51 (Oct. 1999), p.3. N.N. Ayubi, Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Arab World (London: Routledge, 1991), p.159. J. Beinin AKP) in 2001, comprising the reformist wing of the VP and some other conservative politicians. The AKP scored a major victory in 3 November 2002 elections. Quoted in İşçi Kırgın, 'İşveren Mutlu', Yeni Şafak (17 March 2003), p.7. B. Gülbaba, 'Çalışma Yaşamına Bomba', Radikal (28 Feb. 2003), p.9.