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Paper short abstract

This paper examines the transformation of parts of Aydos Forest into a "Nation Garden" in the context of "pernicious" polarization. Patchwork forest governance that enables such transformations reinforces political and social divisions, boosts electoral gains, and puts common futures at risk.

Paper long abstract

Aydos Forest is located on Istanbul’s Asian side, spanning 105 ha of pine–oak woodland and lake. In 2022, 21 ha were leased to the local municipality for a “Nation Garden” (Millet Bahçesi) makeover, sparking the grassroots defenders’ campaign. Drawing on ethnography of green spaces and plants within the Istanbul metropolitan area, this paper explores the transformation of parts of forests into Nation Gardens: recreational areas charged with social and political significance. As a flagship project of the Turkish state, Nation Gardens embody lifestyles and values compatible with the ruling party's imaginaries, reinforcing state ideas of preferred citizenship and simultaneously advancing the ruling party's political messaging. In the context of pernicious (McCoy & Somer, 2019) political and social polarization, lifestyles, future imaginaries, and environmental sensitivities and aesthetics both inform politics and become political targets. Urban politics must navigate mutual antipathies, diametrically opposed visions of the future and values, growing mistrust, and information chambers. Right‑wing environmental populism, promising green futures aligned with its electorate’s values and desires, deepens divisions and puts common futures at risk. The paper describes what I call “patchwork governance,” the type of governance that enables allocating parts of forests to various individuals, municipalities, and companies for a range of profit-driven activities, encompassing populist initiatives as well as economic and political ventures. The Aydos case shows how rapid, politicized “greening” can produce apparent public benefits while degrading forest functions, erasing local practices and knowledge, consolidating authoritarian power, and deepening political and social polarization.