The AKP's delirious spaces: enjoying the notions of construction and architecture in neoliberal Turkey

Official URL: http://192.168.1.20/record=b1500467 (Table of Contents)

After the Justice and Development Party (AKP), that had been in office for almost ten years, presented the project of Kanal Istanbul, more commonly known as the 'crazy project' in the eve of 2011 general elections, a state of excess and delirium became visible in several segments of society such as mass media and business sector. With respect to its vision of changing the landscape in quite a radical fashion, the 'crazy project' is emblematic of the excessive and delirious state in the construction sector for the last five years or so in Turkey. This thesis focuses on the AKP's hegemony through its spatial practices and regulations of everyday life. In this research, the role of social fantasy is discussed regarding the ways in which the notions of architecture and construction are conceived. Accordingly, the issue of 'catching up with the West', which has been quite prevalent from the foundation of the republic, is re-problematized in the neoliberal context. Apart from the discursive aspect of the subject, the role of enjoyment (jouissance), that which escapes analysis, is taken into consideration by consulting Lacanian psychoanalysis and its pertinent concepts throughout this thesis.