The Open Access Movement as Commoning: Everyday Practices and Tactics of Academics in Türkiye

Abstract

The open access movement has increasingly been discussed as a practice of commoning and as a response to the commodification of knowledge. The aim of this research is to examine how academics working in higher education institutions in Türkiye position themselves within the open access movement. It explores how academics interpret and experience restrictions such as copyright within the context of the movement. More specifically, the study examines the everyday practices and tactical responses developed by academics in response to restrictions such as copyright and paywalls. To this end, semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-one faculty members from state and foundation universities in Türkiye. A phenomenological design was employed, and the data were analysed using thematic analysis. Thematic analysis revealed that academics interpret the open access movement as a productive buffer zone within the liminal space in which alternatives are constructed, and that they adopt various everyday practices and tactical responses to restrictions such as copyright limitations. Grounded in orientations toward an open, free, and independent understanding of science, these tactics include forming solidarity networks, fostering collaborative practices, and compliance with copyright and related rules. By examining how academics position themselves within the open access movement and experience its values through everyday practices and tactical responses, this study contributes to the literature on knowledge commons and the commodification of scientific knowledge production.