The Populism of the Village Institutes: a Contradictory Expression of Kemalist Populism

The Village Institutes were one of the most efficacious social phenomena in the history of the Turkish Republic. Being educational institutions, they have been studied mostly in the discipline of pedagogics. However, they were multi-dimensional phenomena with far-reaching influence, and have continued to be a significant subject for social scientists. This book aims to contribute to the academic literature on the Village Institutes by analyzing them within the context of populism. The book mainly focuses on the paradoxical relationship between populism and democracy, and analyzes it through the contradictory conceptualization of the people, the separation between intellectuals and the people, and the question of participation. The fundamental principles, educational program, and the organizational structure of the Village Institutes are also discussed to see whether the populism of the Village Institutes surpassed the boundaries of ? and became a challenge to- the Kemalist populism through the implementation of democratic principles and a different understanding of education, ?education within work?.