Der Internationale Frauentag nach der Dekonstruktion von Geschlecht : eine empirisch-qualitative Vergleichsstudie zu Bündnispolitiken im Rahmen des 8. März in Berlin und in Istanbul.

Abstract

This doctoral dissertation project aims to compare the (im-)possibility of building coalitions between political actors of diverse women's and gender-based scenes and movements in Berlin and in Istanbul with an empirical-qualitative approach. International Women's Day (IWD) was chosen as an object of research because it involves thorough discussions on women's movement(s) and feminism, as well as sex and gender. The controversial assessment of IWD paved the way for field research in Berlin (2012) and in Istanbul (2013). Data was collected by means of documents, participant observation during the preparation for and celebration of IWD, and 40 interviews with experts from civil society organizations and political institutions. The empirical data were analyzed with an approach based on Meuser and Nagel's adaptation of Grounded Theory. Due to globalization and transnationalization processes, neoliberal restructuring and debates on identity politics, researchers focusing on women and gender have observed a crisis in feminist movements, especially in the 'Western' societies since the 1990s. The strength of aimed comparison lies in the fact that in today's Turkey - unlike Germany - women's movements work towards common goals and criticize publicly. Based on a 'deep description' of IWD - while focusing on coalition building in the context of the event - the following research question ought to be answered: After the unifying collective subject of 'we women' has been decentered and deconstructed in the context of (post)structuralist, postcolonial and queerfeminist scientific discourses, how can the categories of sex and gender still function as a focal point for social movements? Thus, this dissertation deals with coalition politics among diverse women on the occasion of this transnational event.