Playing with technology toward populist governmentality in Turkey

Abstract

Bulut and Özkan's chapter focuses on Technofest, Turkey's largest technology festival, as a site where nationalism, technological innovation, and play converge in politically significant ways. Ergin Bulut and Nazlı Özkan analyze how the festival functions not only as a celebration of youth creativity and technological prowess but also as a strategic platform for military interests. Technofest offers the military an opportunity to showcase advanced technologies and identify potentially useful civilian inventions. The chapter argues that authoritarianism in the digital age must be understood beyond state institutions, paying close attention to how political desire is cultivated through spaces of popular culture and technology. Through participant engagement and shared emotional investment, Technofest creates an “affective atmosphere” that temporarily transcends Turkey's polarized political landscape. Yet, as the festival is organized by a foundation led by Selçuk Bayraktar—President Erdogan's son-in-law and CEO of the country's top defense company—its playful façade masks deeper political motivations. The chapter thus reveals how play and innovation are co-opted within an authoritarian framework, where civic enthusiasm and state power become entangled in subtle but potent ways. © 2026 selection and editorial matter, Sara Polak, Sybille Lammes, Frans Willem Korsten, Frank Chouraqui, Bram Ieven, Alex Gekker, and Saniye Inceindividual chapters, the contributors.