Techno-Social Policy of Free Open Source Software in Turkey - A Case Study on Pardus

Free Open Source Software (FOSS) is critical in any contemporary society, particularly if its digital existence is to be extensively crucial; therefore, it is essential to inquiry whether or not there is a credible and reliable FOSS-related Techno-Social Policy, in a particular context, as in Turkey. The study focuses on Pardus which is a FOSS-based Linux Operating System (OS), particularly arguing how Pardus has not achieved its initial or interim objectives clearly stated in 2004 and 2011; to become Pardus Fraud-Debian of becoming Turkey’s present day accepted FOSS solution. To do so, the source for the study is collated from formal reports and internet data; and analyzed through application of process tracing approach to gain enhanced understanding. The study argues the causes relating to failure of the Pardus project and how this failure should be comprehended to conclude how Pardus was deliberately used as leverage to obtain better ongoing deals from Giants (e.g. Microsoft). This study shall then predict the outcome of the state-dependent FOSS project and inform the future FOSS project strategy and deployment. Consequently, the inquiry to whether or not there is a precise techno-social policy of FOSS is the subject of this paper.