Citation

Donmez RO. Ethnopolitics 2007; 6(1): 43-65.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/17449050601161340

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between Kurdish nationalist and official Turkish nationalist identities and considers the effects of political violence. In this context, the study argues that the relationship between Kurdish nationalism and its official Turkish counterpart is problematic in nature and that these ideologies have tried to exist by referring to their opposite number as “the other” and engaging in political violence. In the 21st century, this clash has spread to the grassroots level of both circles, leading to tension between Kurds and Turks. The study is restricted to official Turkish nationalism and does not evaluate (Turkish) ultra-right nationalism. The paper begins by evaluating the psychological, sociological and political dynamics of the situation. It then examines the concept of political violence in relation to ethnic and national social identities. The second section sheds light on the relationship between official Turkish nationalism and Kurdish nationalism by tracing origins to the Ottoman Empire in order better to understand the role of violence in the formation of both Kurdish and Turkish nationalist identities. These aspects provide insight into why, in the 1980s, Kurdish nationalism evolved into ethnic terrorism. The final section seeks to discover why the Kurdish issue has been transformed into an ethnic backlash for both Kurds and Turks, and considers the relevance to the case of the European Union integration process and the US-led invasion of Iraq.