Critical Mass Theory and Participation in Social Movements: The Case of Gezi Protests in Turkey

Abstract

The meeting organized in Gezi Park on May 27th, 2013 to protest the construction of a mall in the historical park has turned into a nationwide collective movement with a gradual increase in the number of participants from different ages, classes, and political backgrounds in an era in which the young were claimed to be apolitical in comparison to the 1968 generation of Turkey. The phenomenon did not only draw the attention of the international press and news during those times but also turned into an outstanding and popular topic for academic studies. Therefore, there are several publications analyzing the Gezi Uprising and the profile, psychology, and motivation of Gezi participants. Using critical mass theory to analyze the data collected through literature review, this study examines the collective action and interdependence of the heterogeneous participant profiles with different motivations in order to understand how the Gezi protests of 2013 emerged as the largest social movement of Turkish political and social history. This study does not aim to fully answer why there are no large-scale demonstrations despite the rate of discontent in today’s Turkey being much higher than that of 2013; however, critical mass theory certainly provides sufficient background to interpret participation in social movements en masse in the post-Cold War era when there is no political leader and organization leading the uprisings.