Fatma Müge Göçek
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After the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey, one of the first actions of the Turkish state and government was to purge thousands of academics and deans from office.
In a crackdown that rapidly spread across civil and military
services, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered the closure of
thousands of private schools and many universities. Some 15,000 employees at the education ministry were fired, while more than 1,500 university deans were asked to resign.
So, why did Turkey’s government go after academics, and how were they able to force so many to resign?
I am a sociologist who grew up in Turkey and went through its
university system. Even after moving to the United States, I have been
in close contact with academia in Turkey – organizing many academic
events with Turkish universities and collaborating with faculty.
I believe that the answer to the above question lies in the unique design of the institutions of higher education in Turkey.
