Performing property in Golluce: land enclosures and commoning struggles in 1960s Turkey

Abstract

This article focuses on the 'double movement' of enclosures and commoning practices that took place in Golluce village in Izmir in Turkey. This case shows how landlordism gained strength in complicity with the green revolution and how it paved the way for fresh plundering by new agricultural corporations. This process ultimately produced its antithesis, giving way to the occupation of the previously confiscated land by peasants, who took part in one of the largest peasant movements against enclosures to occur in the country. This article deals with the transformation of power relations between social classes by analyzing the changing claims and actions of actors over land property rights.