People do not die in earthquakes in Turkey.
People in Turkey dies because of political choices.
This sentence is not a slogan. This sentence is not a search for literary rigor. This sentence is about the political-economic order established in Turkey for decades. is a direct consequence. Fault lines do not kill; rent-seeking schemes do. Nature does not destroy; governance does. August 17, 1999 and February 6, 2023 are not just geological ruptures; they are the dates of the architecture of power being built in Turkey. moral, institutional and intellectual bankruptcy are moments recorded in history.
Earthquakes are not destiny in Turkey.
Earthquake in Turkey, is a conscious choice of political economy.
Every major earthquake is the moment when the architecture of legitimacy built by the government on concrete cracks. Because in Turkey, the state does not exist to secure the right to life of citizens; to ensure the growth of capital through space is working. The state has ceased to be a risk mitigating structure, a political apparatus that itself generates risk transformed. Therefore, earthquake is not a natural phenomenon in Turkey; is a mirror of the regime.
Turkey's development model is not a production economy.
Turkey's development model concrete economy.
In this country, not factories but residences, not agricultural land but zoning plots, not science centers but shopping malls have been built. The number of contractors in Turkey outnumbered the total number of contractors in Europe. the fact that it has doubled in sizei is not an accidental data. This picture shows that capital accumulation in Turkey is not based on production, with zoning rents clearly shows that it has been achieved. No industrial society produces so many contractors. No production economy survives with so many land traders.
Contracting is not a sector in Turkey.
Contracting, is a class of political loyalty.
This class thrives on public tenders, is protected by zoning amnesties, and gains immunity through lack of supervision. Buildings that collapse in earthquakes are not the result of isolated engineering mistakes; a systematic chain of political protection product. Concrete is not just a building material. Concrete, is an ideology of governance. It is fast, uncontrolled, blesses short-term gain and normalizes long-term destruction.
In this regime, science is an obstacle to investment.
Control is the enemy of speed.
Planning is the opponent of rent.
For this reason, it is not politically preferable to take precautions before an earthquake. Because precaution reduces the rent for post-disaster reconstruction. Reducing risk does not bring profit; brings destruction. In Turkey, disasters are not just disasters, economic opportunity as a disaster capitalism. This is where disaster capitalism begins.
And it is now necessary to state this fact clearly:
This order has not been disrupted by wrong practices.
This is order, with conscious choices has been established.
The solution is therefore not technical.
The solution is not a change in regulations.
The solution is not to penalize a few contractors.
The problem is the regime.
The problem is state intelligence.
The problem is the political mentality that sees human life as a cost item.
Contractor Regime, TOKI, Red Crescent and the Opposition's Silent Consensus
The reason why disasters are so devastating in Turkey is not only the preferences of the government. It is also because these choices silent on the normalization, There is even a practice of political opposition that is sometimes articulated with this order. The rent regime in Turkey is not only ruled by the government, without objection survives.
It is therefore not just a question of “mismanagement”.
Issue, is a regime of compromise that produces social catastrophe.
In Turkey, public tenders are not allocated according to market rules. Public tenders are distributed according to political loyalty. Competition, efficiency and the common good are merely rhetorical in this system. The real decisive criterion is the is an organic bond. The contracting sector is the most visible, inviolable and protected area of this bond.
Contracting in this country is not a free market activity.
Contracting, is the economic extension of the state.
Urban transformation projects are not for risk reduction, to generate political loyalty are being carried out. Infrastructure projects are not public services but spatial propaganda tools of the government. Bridges, roads, tunnels, airports; not as engineering achievements, scenes of a show of power as the most important construction projects in the world. However, in these moments of spectacle, ground surveys are never discussed, fault lines are never discussed, building inspections are never discussed.
TOKİ is the clearest and most institutionalized symbol of this order.
TOKI does not build cities.
TOKİ does not produce safe living spaces.
TOKI is a symbol of the power constructed by the government through space. political discipline regime builds. TOKİ projects do not solve the citizen's right to housing; they put citizens in debt, confine them to a single type of space, and reduce their living space. into the sphere of political control transforms. The basic logic of TOKİ is speed. Speed is the enemy of control. Unchecked speed means only one thing in earthquake geography: Ölum.
Cities in Turkey is not planned.
Cities in Turkey managed.
And governed cities are not safe. This is because planning requires public wisdom, whereas governance is often driven by political reflexes. This is why zoning plans are not based on scientific reports, political needs is changed. The fault line is not an obstacle to the development plan; it is just a bureaucratic detail that needs to be overcome.
The zoning of assembly areas is one of the most naked examples of this regime. The destruction of these areas is not an oversight, is a conscious choice. Public space has been sacrificed for the market. Parks, squares, empty spaces; spaces that should save lives in times of disaster have been handed over to capital as soon as they carry potential for rent. The post-earthquake housing crises are the inevitable result of this choice.
Cities in this country are not for living,
built to be sold.
The Red Crescent debates have revealed the moral decadence of this system. The Red Crescent is not just an aid organization; the Red Crescent is a is an institution of social trust. However, trust cannot be generated where aid is marketized and donations turn into commercial contracts. The fact that aid agencies act like companies has created a rupture in the state-society relationship that is difficult to repair.
The Red Crescent issue is not an isolated scandal.
This one, neoliberal state mind is a natural consequence.
The TCIP system is the product of the same mentality. Risk is no longer a public responsibility; it is reduced to an individual's insurance policy. The state does not produce security, distributes risk. The citizen is made the insurer of his own life; the state is absolved of responsibility.
And this is where the position of the opposition becomes decisive.
In Turkey, the opposition is fighting the rent regime did not engage in open confrontation.
The concrete economy is criticized but the zoning system is not questioned. TOKİ is criticized but its raison d'être is not discussed. Urban transformation is criticized, but its logic of rent is left untouched. This silence is not a weakness; this silence is a tacit agreement. Because the rent regime opens space not only for the government but also for the opposition at the local level.
This is why disaster politics in Turkey is not a two-party failure.
This is a regime blindness.
Centralization, Disaster Management Illusion and Institutional Collapse
In Turkey, the state appears strong.
But this is power, is a showcase that evaporates in moments of crisis.
Centralization is not a model of governance in Turkey. Centralization, It is the reflex of power to feel safe. Power is centralized, authority is decentralized, decision-making is confined to closed circuits. In normal times, this structure creates a sense of authoritarian “stability”. However, in times of crisis - especially in disasters - this structure paralyzed.
Because disaster management cannot be centralized.
Disaster management with local capacity it happens.
In Turkey, local governments have been systematically weakened. Local governments are not administrative units for the government, potential political opponents as a "humanitarian organization". For this reason, their powers have been restricted, their resources have been cut and their initiatives have been pruned. Structures that should have provided the first response in the event of a disaster were deliberately left dysfunctional.
The result is this:
Disasters are not managed in Turkey.
Disasters in Turkey is staged.
Disaster coordination is not a scientific organization, centralized propaganda mechanism into a state. Instructions are given in front of the camera, images are shared from helicopters, big words are spoken. But for the people waiting under the rubble, this show means nothing. Because rescue requires engineering, logistics, pre-prepared local networks.
In Turkey, the same scene happens after every earthquake:
The state comes late.
Society tries to save itself.
This is not an exception.
This situation is how the regime works.
A centralized state structure also paralyzes the flow of information. Real damage assessment cannot be done, accurate data cannot be collected, and needs cannot be identified properly. Because information is filtered on the way up and delayed on the way down. Speed saves lives in times of disaster; centralization it's a waste of time.
Institutional collapse manifests itself not only during disasters but also before disasters. Inspection mechanisms in Turkey are on paper. Building inspection has been handed over to the market, municipalities have been put under political pressure and professional chambers have been neutralized. Scientific warnings are ignored because science disrupts the political narrative.
Therefore, there is no pre-earthquake preparation in Turkey.
There is no preparation because preparation does not produce spectacle.
Pre-disaster prevention is an invisible activity. It has no inauguration, no ribbon, no election material. However, the promise of “fast housing” after a disaster is a powerful political performance presented in the presence of cameras. Disaster politics in Turkey does not produce security; produces an image.
Industrial policy is part of this blindness. Turkey's manufacturing infrastructure is concentrated in areas with the highest earthquake risk. This is not only an economic mistake; it is a is a national security weakness. Earthquakes do not only destroy buildings; they stop production, break supply chains and paralyze the economy. Despite this, geological reality is not taken into account in industrial planning.
Because development in Turkey is not against nature;
ignoring nature planned.
This whole picture shows that:
The state is not strong.
State centralized but weak.
The society tries to survive despite this institutional collapse. Disaster solidarity is strong in Turkey. Volunteers, civil networks and citizen initiatives emerge in every earthquake. However, this social power cannot evolve into institutional transformation. Because the regime sees this power as a threat.
And the same cycle happens after every earthquake:
Solidarity → Fatigue → Forgetting.
Therefore, earthquakes in Turkey are not a disaster,
a historical repetition has become.
Disaster Constitution - Founding Principles of a Rent-Free State
Turkey's problem is not the earthquake.
Turkey's problem, It is a rent regime established in the geography of earthquakes.
Therefore, the solution cannot be achieved through building retrofitting projects, new regulations or a few symbolic arrests. Turkey does not need a “disaster management reform”; is a radical reconstruction of political reason. This is reconstruction, not a technical document; with a founding political will possible. At this point, the “Disaster Constitution” is not a legal text, but a is a call for regime change.
The first principle of the Disaster Constitution is this:
The right to life is above the right to property.
No zoning decision, no investment project, no growth target can put the life safety of citizens at risk. Building on fault lines is not a public mistake; constitutional offense should be defined as. The main task of the state is not to produce growth figures, is to protect life.
The second principle is this:
Rent must be excluded from the domain of public sovereignty.
Zoning authority should be removed from the arbitrary disposal of political power and should be linked to scientific, transparent and participatory mechanisms. Zoning amnesties should be constitutionally prohibited. Amnesty is not only a weakness of the law; the institutionalization of death represents.
The third principle is this:
Contracting is not a privilege but a heavy public responsibility.
The contracting sector in Turkey should be downsized. Building production should be regulated with a public security logic, not a free market logic. Inspection cannot be delegated to the market. Building inspection is one of the indispensable duties of the state and this duty cannot be subcontracted.
The fourth principle is this:
TOKI must be redefined or liquidated.
TOKİ is not a housing institution in its current form; it is a tool of the government's spatial hegemony. The right to housing cannot be ensured through a debt regime. Either TOKİ is transformed into a democratic, local and participatory housing administration or on the grounds of public safety is closed.
The fifth principle is this:
Disaster safety cannot be ensured without strengthening local governments.
Disaster management is carried out with local capacity, not centralized performance. The powers of local governments should be increased, their resources should be secured and disaster preparedness should be defined as a local public responsibility. Centralization does not produce security; produces fragility.
The sixth principle is this:
Public space is inviolable.
Gathering areas, parks, squares and empty spaces cannot be made marketable. These areas should be under constitutional guarantee; they should not be opened for development. constitutional violation should be counted. Public space is not just a place in times of disaster; is a means of survival.
The seventh principle is this:
Aid and solidarity must be taken out of the market.
Organizations like the Red Crescent cannot operate on a commercial basis. Aid is not a service to be bought and sold; it is a public obligation. State-society trust is not based on corporate philanthropy; transparent and accountable institutions can be re-established.
The eighth principle is this:
Risk cannot be individualized.
Systems like TCIP cannot replace public responsibility. Insurance does not produce security; it merely prices the loss. The state's duty is not to price the loss, to prevent harm.
And the last principle is this:
Science is above political power.
Professional chambers, universities and scientists are not the ornaments of decision-making processes; they are the center. Every regime that excludes science invites disaster. An earthquake-resilient society is not built by engineering; democracy, law and public responsibility is established.
Turkey does not have to rebuild its cities.
Turkey, It has to rebuild its political mind.
Earthquakes destroy buildings.
The rent system destroys societies.
Centralized power destroys institutions.
Ideology replacing science destroys the future.
The Disaster Constitution is not a wish, is a certificate of survival.