Post-Doctoral Fellow
The Surveillance Studies Centre, Queen's University
Camera surveillance is becoming a usual part of everyday life in Turkey. Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras became visible initially in the private sphere primarily in banks, retail stores, and shopping malls starting in the 1990s. Since 2005, camera surveillance has expanded to institutional, semi-public and public spheres. The key step in the institutionalization and expansion of state CCTV surveillance in town centres and city streets was the launch of the Mobile Electronic System Integration (MOBESE) in 2005 as the provincial information and security system for Istanbul. This talk examines state-run open street camera surveillance in Istanbul with a specific emphasis on the understanding of security and the role of surveillance within the neoliberal context in Turkey. The issues are discussed in three dimensions: local attitude towards global security concern, private sector support, and Turkey’s accession into the European Union.
The Surveillance Studies Centre
c/o David Murakami Wood
Department of Criminology
University of Ottawa
Canada