SECURITY, ORDER AND SURVEILLANCE: THE RIGHT TO PROTEST IN THE WORLD OF THE FUTURE

Year 2023, , 18 - 44, 28.10.2023

Burak Kesgin

https://doi.org/10.18490/sosars.1382498

Abstract

In today's world, protests face obstacles and oppression not only in non-democratic regimes but also in liberal democracies. Social movements that want to make their voices heard through protests in areas such as climate, environment and social justice stand out as those most affected by repressive policing. The understanding that prioritizes democratic rights and freedoms for protesters and adopts negotiation as a method is being replaced by protest policing that prioritizes non-compromising public order and security that frequently uses incapacitation strategies. Further, the tolerance shown toward some social movements by law enforcement creates intensified criticism that law enforcement officers are politicized and apply different standards to different movements. In this study, current trends in the restriction, surveillance and suppression of the right to protest in liberal democracies, especially in the United States, England and Canada, and the problems related to new models, tools, technologies, legal frameworks and internal security bureaucracies developed in line with these trends are examined. Transformations in the field of protest security and policing in the past decades seem to justify the increasingly strident concerns expressed by pro-democracy segments regarding the future of the right to protest. The negative outlook and trend regarding the right to protest contain warnings about the future, especially regarding inbalances of power between state coercion and citizen participation in democratic arenas.

Keywords

Protest, police, social movements, democracy, surveillance

GÜVENLİK, DÜZEN VE GÖZETİM: GELECEĞİN DÜNYASINDA PROTESTO HAKKI

Abstract

Günümüz dünyasında protesto eylemleri yalnızca demokratik olmayan rejimlerde değil, liberal demokrasilerde de engeller ve baskıyla karşılaşmaktadır. İklim, çevre ve sosyal adalet gibi alanlarda seslerini protestolar yoluyla duyurmak isteyen toplumsal hareketler bu olumsuz durumdan en fazla etkilenenler olarak öne çıkar. Protesto güvenliğinde protestocunun demokratik hak ve özgürlüklerini öncelikli gören, yöntem olarak müzakereyi benimseyen anlayış yerini kamu düzeni ve güvenliğini öncelik haline getiren, uzlaşmacı olmayan, etkisizleştirme stratejisini sıkça benimseyen bir protesto polisliğine bırakmıştır. Kimi toplumsal hareketlere karşın gösterilen tolerans ise kolluk kuvvetlerinin siyasileştiğine ve farklı hareketlere farklı standartlar uyguladıklarına yönelik eleştirileri daha da şiddetlenmiştir. Bu çalışmada Amerika Birleşik Devletleri, İngiltere ve Kanada başta olmak üzere liberal demokrasilerde protesto hakkının kısıtlanması, gözetimi ve baskı altına alınmasına yönelik güncel eğilimler, bu eğilimler doğrultusunda geliştirilen yeni modeller, araçlar, teknolojiler, yasal çerçeveler ve iç güvenlik bürokrasilerine ilişkin sorunlar incelenmiştir. Protesto güvenliği ve polisliği alanında geçtiğimiz on yıllarda yaşanan dönüşüm ve son dönemde yaşanan gelişmeler, protesto hakkının geleceğine ilişkin demokrasi yanlısı kesimlerce son dönemde daha sık, yoğun biçimde dile getirilen endişe ve kaygıları haklı çıkaran bir görünüm arz eder. Protesto hakkına ilişkin söz konusu olumsuz görünüm ve eğilim, özellikle devlet baskısı ile yurttaşların demokratik arenalara katılımı arasındaki güç dengesizliklerine ilişkin geleceğe yönelik uyarılar içermektedir.

Keywords

Protesto, polis, toplumsal hareketler, demokrasi, gözetim

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