The regeneration of poverty and exclusion after the Van earthquake

Abstract

This thesis examines the failure of disaster management after the earthquake in Van, one of the poorest cities in the Kurdish region in Turkey. It evaluates the underlying reasons of failure and how,such failure affected people's lives. Respectively, the thesis investigates how disaster management process is politicized. The study also analyzes the outcomes of the disaster by looking at social, political and economic aspects. Based on the analysis of field study, various reports and documents, the thesis demonstrates the management process was double-headed since the government {" favored their supporters as well as blocked the activities of the municipality which is controlled by the opposed party. Civil society was in an ambiguous position since it could not develop coordination with the government because of the political contestation, yet their actions were politicized by the opposing political party. As a result, the disaster management process is systematically politicized. Correspondingly, the pre-existing inequalities, poverty and exclusion of the disaster victims were reproduced. The mobilization of victims demonstrated the failure of the disaster management dramatically which might have produced a critical juncture. The results of the20 14 local elections indicated that the government could not consolidate its local power in Van.