Burak Gurel

Mr. Gurel's research is about the peasant mobilization for land reform in Turkey during the 1960s and 1970s. During this period in modern Turkish history, peasants attempted to implement their own method of reform through land occupation after conflict arose as to the best course of action concerning state owned lands. Mr. Gurel plans to perform a cross cultural comparison between the land tenure system and peasant political orientation in Turkey with rural structures and peasant politics in other countries and regions that have experienced similar movements. He hopes his research will help correct the largely urban based treatment of the social movements of the period, in addition to giving a more comprehensive analysis of the discussions on land reform in Turkey.