One of the distinguishing features of AKP’s rule has been its 'success' in implementing a program of neoliberalization. In practice, this has not only transformed rural life by opening up the countryside for new forms of accumulation through a variety of extractive processes. It has also brought with it an infrastructural boom evidenced in a variety of construction projects, ranging from the mundane (e.g. mass housing developments) to what Erdogan himself described as 'crazy' (e.g. the world's largest airport). These transformations have faced some of the most visible and sustained attempts at resisting the rule of the AKP as evidenced by the Gezi Park uprising as well as countless smaller movements in the countryside that oppose the construction of highways, coal power plants, and micro-hydroelectric dam projects. These attempts at resistance have come to be seen not only as the potential spark for the creation of a powerful peasant movement (outside of Kurdish politics) but also as potential conduits for the creation of a more inclusive, democratic and sustainable alternative to the model offered by neoliberalism. This paper problematizes these narratives by locating contemporary environmental politics of Turkey within a longer-term reading of state-society relationships. Specifically, it argues that rather than a revolt against neoliberalism as a political order or against its implications for development policy, these movements can be interpreted as struggles over the control of the state itself. In so doing, the paper contrasts environmental conflicts in Turkey with struggles observed in South America or South Asia. Unlike the latter examples where conflicts primarily take the shape of 'environmentalism of the poor' that questions the desirability and possibility of long-term economic growth, resistance movements in Turkey continue to articulate a vision of development that resonates with the Turkish state's long-standing ambition of 'catching up' with industrialized nations.