Abstract
Will pro-Kurdish reforms decrease ethnic violence in Turkey? Conventional wisdom would suggest that elimination of the root causes will heal past wounds. In bitter ethno-political conflicts, however, the issue becomes much larger than its components: deep mistrust between parties overshadow specific issue reforms. Turkey’s Kurdish issue is a case in point where ethnic reforms would not bring stability unless they are coupled with steps to eliminate mistrust. This article pays a specific attention to public framing of reforms. We argue that the actual content of reforms is not so significant; what really matters, instead, is the public perception of reforms on both sides, Turkish and Kurdish. The AKP’s claim of “democratic opening” loses credibility in recent years as the PKK’s alternative narrative gains prominence.
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Notes
For the democratization package in detail, see “Başbakan Erdoğan Demokratikleşme Paketini Açıkladı.” Radikal September 30, 2013. The pro-Kurdish DTP’s proposal for village names, an amendment to Law 5442, was dated back to April, 20, 2008. For details, see Jongerden (2009).
For a rare survey on Kurdish public opinion of the derailment of the peace process and ensuing urban warfare, see Yanmış (2016).
Scholars who analyze large-N data tend to support the first view.
In the most extreme cases, in-group rewards or punishments may be severe to the extent that an individual cannot possibly escape polarization. In the words of a Serbian taxi driver: ‘No one wanted the coming war, but if I don’t fight, someone from my side [Serb] will kill me, and if my Muslim friends don’t fight, other Muslims will kill them’ (Oberschall 2000:996).
On collective psychology of insurgent groups, See Goodwin (2001).
The poll was conducted by AKAM. The poll also indicated that 69% of the population is not supportive of the process; 78% believes that the Turks and the Kurds became more alienated from one another; and 70% does not believe that the terror problem will end. For details, see Vatan (2009).
The new law enables MİT to conduct operations without fearing serious judicial oversight. With this law, MİT now have unfettered access to the archives and databases of every ministry and are able to collect any data on citizens. Moreover, the law requires private companies to hand over consumer data and technical equipment to MİT when requested. Critics argue that the law is apparently against Article 20 of the Turkish Constitution that protects the privacy of citizens. See, Akyol (2014).
For details of the Argentina case, see Kurtz (2010).
D. Tutu, “South Africa’s Human Spirit: An Oral Memoir of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” http://www.sabctruth.co.za/index.htm (2000) Quoted in Goodman (2006: 172).
A. Krog, Country of My Skull: Guilt, Sorrow, and the Limits of Forgiveness in the New South Africa (Johannesburg: Random House, 1998), 45; Quoted in Goodman (2006:175).
J. Elshtain, “Hannah Arendt’s French Revolution,” Salmagundi 84 (1989), 210; Quoted in Cobb (2013:224).
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank participants of The Colloquium on the Transformation of Turkey organized by the International Institute of Islamic Thought in December 2014. An earlier version of this essay was also presented at Colgate University on Feb. 26, 2015.
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Gürbüz, M., Akyol, Ş. Ethnic reforms and the puzzle of public framing: the case of Kurds in Turkey. Cont Islam 11, 157–169 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-017-0378-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-017-0378-6