Time To Talk Debate Series 1: Social Insecurities and Security Politics

Dates: 28 March 2014
Time: 18:30
Speakers: Zeynep Şarlak, Evren Balta

On Friday 28th March at 18:30, Depo will present its first debate titled “Social Insecurities and Security Politics”. The discussion will take place as part of the TTT topic of “The Crisis of Trust in Europe: How to Build New Bonds of Mutual Confidence”.
In Europe loss of trust is diagnosed as a negative fact which threatens the social fabric where democratic institutions were built upon. However in Turkey trust could not exist as a founding and established component in social relationships. According to worldwide social values surveys, Turkey is one of those countries where interpersonal trust statistics score the lowest. On the other hand in surveys for evaluating the confidence towards social institutions, the ones which are most distanced to democratic participation – such as the army – come out with highest confidence percentages.

In the first session of discussions which will be focusing on trust/mistrust issues in Turkey, two speakers will approach the topic from two perspectives of “security” and set a framework for the following public debate: Zeynep Şarlak will be talking about the evolution of security state, its current depository and mechanisms of this political and social structure which produce insecurities. Evren Balta will talk about the transformation of security instrument, marketization of security and their effects on the senses of trust and confidence within the society.

Zeynep Şarlak – researcher, writer. Currently she is a PhD candidate at Leiden University and her research field is Turkish case of the security state. She also conducted research on the social dynamics of corruption and perceptions of corruption in Turkey.
Evren Balta – Political Scientist, writer. Associate professor at Yıldız Technical University, Department of Political Sciences and International Relations. She published research on security politics and practices in Turkey and in the world.

Time to Talk is a young and vibrant network of European centres of debate dedicated to stimulating discussion on the key socio-political themes of the day. Established in 2011, Time to Talk has expanded to offer debates from 15 institutions in 12 different countries. We therefore have a varied, international membership, but, from London to Istanbul, from Barcelona to Moscow, what unites Time to Talk members is their dedication to tackling the awkward questions that often remain ignored in popular public discourse. We are all committed to confronting uncomfortable issues, to offering inspiring new points of view and to encouraging audience participation.

http://www.eurozine.com/timetotalk/