Perpetual Conflict of ‘Turkishness’: The Turkish State and its Minority Groups

This essay demonstrates how both Kurds and Alevis have socially been portrayed not only as ‘others’, but additionally as backwards.  Furthermore, in the case of Alevis, despite the state being built upon the principles of secularization, Sunni-Islam became to be associated with state morality leading the perception of Alevis as ‘immoral’. It is visible that the concept of Turkishness plays a large role in the relations between the Turkish state and its minorities, and is manifested in both the social and legal dimensions, therefore indicating a very in-depth social incoherence. The minorities, although perceived as citizens, unless assimilated and accepting of Turkishness are seen as pseudo-citizens (Yegen, 2009) in need of saving, or even worse, as a threat to the very existence of the state and its interests, memories and symbols. Any further research could additionally benefit from looking more in-depth on the political, economic and social relations within the minority groups themselves. Both Kurds and Alevis cannot be seen as a homogeneous unit, however, due to the scope of the paper this was not addressed in full detail.

Aunina, E. (2018) Perpetual Conflict of ‘Turkishness’: The Turkish State and its Minority Groups. E-International Relations. https://www.e-ir.info/2018/11/04/perpetual-conflict-of-turkishness-the-turkish-state-and-its-minority-groups

Image by: Tomas Maltby