Ramifications of Türkiye's public engagement with polar regions

This study examines how T & uuml;rkiye's National Polar Science Programme (NPSP) and the National Polar Science Symposium (NPSS) define and implement public engagement within the country's emerging polar research framework. Situating T & uuml;rkiye's experience within broader international debates on public engagement in emerging and internationally governed scientific domains, the analysis draws on core science communication theories, including deficit-dialogue-participation models, typologies of public engagement, and co-production perspectives. Methodologically, the study employs qualitative document analysis of ten NPSP Monitoring and Assessment Reports (2018-2022) and seven NPSS abstract books (2017-2023), using an iterative and theory-informed coding process. The findings indicate that public engagement is predominantly shaped by informational and visibility-oriented strategies, while dialogic elements are gradually emerging through education- and youth-focused initiatives. However, institutionalised participatory mechanisms enabling public influence on research agendas remain limited. The study concludes that T & uuml;rkiye's public engagement trajectory reflects a hybrid and incremental configuration shaped by institutional development within an internationally governed research context. By treating the Turkish case as an analytically comparative example rather than a context-specific exception, the article contributes to international discussions on how public engagement is structured and institutionalised in emerging polar and climate research programmes.