Securitizing the Internet: The case of Turkey

Abstract

The rapid digital development in the last two decades has brought the cyberspace to national security agenda in Turkey as one of the significant challenges of the 21st century. Increasing regulation of the Internet and, in particular, online social networks by the state through digital controls and surveillance is being justified addressing the maelstrom of potential cyber threats. Nonetheless, increasing control of cyberspace contrasts with the commitment to the protection of the individual rights and liberties. This paper maps the Internet freedom in Turkey and asks to what extent Turkey is able to strike a balance between providing the security in cyberspace and protecting the Internet freedom in the country.

In order to analyze how digitization and the Internet have developed into a security issue in Turkey, the paper builds on the theoretical framework of securitization formulated by the Copenhagen School, which deals with the construction of the image of security threats. The paper argues that the perception of networked nature of cyberspace to create dissidence which may result in the destruction of state authority leads to hyper-securitization while neglecting the freedom of expression as well as freedom to access information.

The paper follows the methodology of qualitative case study mainly based on document analysis, assessment of the official internet regulations and media analysis.