The politics of civic identity in Turkey: 2011–2017

Abstract

When the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) succeeded in gaining significant support amongst the non-Kurdish electorate in the June 2015 election, many believed Türkiyelileşme – the political strategy of appealing to the non-Kurdish electorate across Turkey through broad alliances with Turkish progressive movements – was the reason behind HDP’s success. Due to this, much literature tended to emphasise how HDP’s Türkiyelileşme discourse was a transformation from their more ethno-nationalist predecessor parties. Through a historical discursive analysis of pro-Kurdish political party activism since the 1960s until the emergence of the HDP, this thesis instead argues that the discourse displayed by Kurdish activists since the emergence of pro-Kurdish parties in the 1990s has always displayed a Türkiyelileşme discourse. Moreover, this thesis analyses different periods where pro-Kurdish parties have utilised a more ethno-nationalist discourse and periods characterised by a Türkiyelileşme agenda. While many have interrpreted pro-Kurdish activism as either ethno-nationalist or Türkiyelileşme, I argue that party activism is defined by both extremes. While the more inclusive Türkiyelileşme characterises pro-Kurdish party activism during periods of relative peace and stability, when state coercion is used against the party, pro-Kurdish activists tend to ‘return to their heartlands’ and utilise a more ethno-nationalist political stance. Thus, this thesis aims to draw links between the level of pressure asserted on pro Kurdish politics and the political strategy with which HDP and its predecessor parties have chosen to follow.