Imagining peace in a conflict environment: Kurdish youths' framing of the Kurdish issue in Turkey

Abstract

Drawn from focus groups composed of fifty-five Kurdish young people in Diyarbakır, Başer and Çelik's article concerns the young Kurds' description of the Kurdish issue in Turkey and their visions of peace. In recognition of their social and political agency, the article focuses on the Kurdish young people's framing of both the conflict and peace, based on their individual everyday observations and experiences, and seeks to understand how they frame the Kurdish issue by defining the root causes of the conflict and imagining solutions for its resolution, particularly vis-à-vis the dominant frames regarding the Kurdish issue in Turkey.

Home is Where the Heart Is? Forced Migration and Voluntary Return in Turkey's Kurdish Regions

“…We find that the displaced who have developed a good knowledge of the Turkish language and obtained permanent employment are less likely to return. Most assuredly, assimilation in the language of the dominant group has multiple normative underpinnings, as displaced persons, particularly those in the younger generation, lose part of their culture (Bas°er and Ç elik 2014). However, as the Irish, Basque and other cases from the region suggest, linguistic assimilation does not necessarily lead to loss of national identity (Connor 1972;McGarry and O'Leary 1993;Ig˘s|z 2006).…”

“…For one thing, living conditions in the new environment in displacement matter. Victims of displacement could be temporarily accommodated in designated refugee camps and face unbearable restrictions, or they could be integrated within a new environment in mixed neighbourhoods in major metropolitan centres; such alternative options might well influence the intentions to return home (Black 2001;Ó Tuathail 2010;Bas°er and Ç elik 2014). In addition, the ethnopolitical make-up of the neighbourhoods of pre-conflict residence, particularly majority/minority patterns, could influence the extent to which victims of displacement opt to return or integrate into a new post-war environment (Celik 2005a;Toal and Dahlman 2005;Belloni 2006;Sert 2008).…”

Reconciliation and intergroup forgiveness: the case of the Kurdish conflict in Turkey

“…From the dominant group's peace frame, this is about "giving cultural rights to Kurds". 51 Dialogue, recognition and emotions such as empathy-the psychological or socioemotional component of reconciliation-fell under the same construal as unity and rights.…”

“War Is like a Blanket”

“…Whatever the exact and possibly fluid nature of the relationship between the PKK and YPS, it is clear that Kurdish youths play an increasingly important role in both the conflict as well as possibilities for peace. Their views towards the Turkish state and society are increasingly influenced by structural forms of discrimination and stereotypical depictions of Kurds within the Turkish media (Başer & Çelik 2014). This is the version of the article accepted for publication in Journal of Middle East Women's Studies Vol.…”