Power Relations in Disaster Governance: The case of Hatay in February 2023 Earthquakes

This research examines the governance of the February 2023 earthquakes in Turkey, with a particular focus on the state’s response and narratives surrounding the disaster in the city of Hatay. Embracing the critical theoretical frameworks of biopolitics and necropolitics, it unfolds the power relations in the management of life and death in disaster settings. The study investigates how disaster governance interacts with biopolitical and necropolitical strategies that regulate life and death. Although the state is not the primary perpetrator in natural disasters, its response, particularly in Hatay, provides an important case for analyzing how sovereign power governs life and death through earthquake response and population management. Hatay, deeply affected by the earthquake and characterized by its multicultural fabric, offers a significant site for exploring relations among disaster governance, biopolitics, and necropolitics, revealing the complex power relations shaping the lived experiences of the earthquake-affected communities. To understand how these power dynamics operate and their impact on affected populations, the research draws on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and primary and secondary sources, using frameworks from biopolitics, necropolitics, and critical disaster studies.