KURDISH NATIONALISM AND ATTITUDE OF TURKISH GOVERNMENT: RECONCILIATION AND REPRESSION SINCE ERDOGAN’S ERA

Abstract

Abstract

Kurds were one of the leading ethnic groups who lost their identity and unity with the fall of the Ottoman empire. Since then, they have lived in a geographical area that overlaps the borders of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria in West Asia. They have faced atrocities as a minority in these countries since the post-World war period. Despite the constant insecurity and struggle for survival, the status of the Kurds is quite different in each of these West Asian states. The relationship between Turkey and Kurds is much problematic. For decades, the international community has debated the status of the various Kurdish-majority regions. As a result, it’s surprising that no clear-cut solution to the problem has ever been devised. This paper traces the relationship between Kurds and Turks from the beginning of the Ottoman Empire to understand the formation of political violence and the evolution of Kurdish nationalism. This research paper focuses on the problems between Kurdish nationalism and Turkish state identities and the impact of the Turkish state’s political violence, state strategies, and assimilationist policies on the Kurdish movement. This paper also focuses on the reconciliation methods adopted by Erdogan’s government and the after-effects.

Keywords: Kurdish nationalism, the Turkish state, identity, Minority, Kurds