The Political Economy of the Kurds of Turkey

Abstract

In recent years, the persecution of the Kurds in the Middle East under ISIS in Iraq and Syria has drawn increasing attention from the international media. In this book, Veli Yadirgi analyses the socioeconomic and political structures and transformations of the Kurdish people from the Ottoman era through to the modern Turkish Republic, arguing that there is a symbiotic relationship between the Kurdish question and the de-development of the predominantly Kurdish domains, making an ideal read for historians of the region and those studying the socio-political and economic evolution of the Kurds. First outlining theoretical perspectives on Kurdish identity, socioeconomic development and the Kurdish question, Yadirgi then explores the social, economic and political origins of Ottoman Kurdistan following its annexation by the Ottomans in 1514. Finally, he deals with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and the subsequent foundation and evolution of the Kurdish question in the new Turkish Republic.

Contentious welfare: The Kurdish conflict and social policy as counterinsurgency in Turkey

“…Systematically denying Kurdish ethnic presence and formulating the issue as a reactionary resistance to modernizing reforms, the Turkish state suppressed Kurdish uprisings with harsh military measures and implemented extensive assimilation policies in the region. Although these policies enabled the Turkish state to contain Kurdish dissent and maintain a conflict-free environment by 1940s, they did not result in the economic, social, and cultural incorporation of the region into Turkey (Yadırgı, 2017;Ye gen, 2003).…”

“…By the 1950s, Turkish nationalism prompted the association of the Kurdish issue with the problem of regional underdevelopment and disparity which were indeed real problems emanating from state policies toward peripheralization of the region and distressing most its population (Yadırgı, 2017, Ye gen, 2003. However, this renewed attention to the Kurdish region did not emerge out of a mere concern about economic underdevelopment and poverty.…”

“…In other words, in the case of Kurds, development was not considered a problem in and of itself but rather a part of the broader issue of national security and politicoeconomic consolidation (Yeğen, 2003). In fact, despite the regional development rhetoric popularized by successive Turkish governments, the preconditions for socioeconomic development in the region such as adequate public investment and land reform have never been properly implemented “because all these measures were antithetical to the Turkish state's policy of controlling the overwhelmingly Kurdish regions” (Yadırgı, 2017, p. 213).…”

“…The strategy of quelling Kurdish unrest by “peaceful” means gained a renewed significance through the end of 2000s with the Kurdish movement's further expanding its political influence. In the local elections of March 29, 2009, for example, the DTP attained a majority of the municipalities in the Kurdish region, gaining a victory against the AKP which lost 15% of its regional votes (Yadırgı, 2017) and three city mayoralties and dozens of districts in the region. This electoral failure along with the political pressure exerted by the Kurdish movement and requirements for Turkey's European Union accession process led the AKP to devise a new Kurdish reform agenda known as the “Kurdish Overture” in the summer of 2009.…”

“…This electoral failure along with the political pressure exerted by the Kurdish movement and requirements for Turkey's European Union accession process led the AKP to devise a new Kurdish reform agenda known as the “Kurdish Overture” in the summer of 2009. This reform later materialized in the “National Unity and Brotherhood Project” ( Milli Birlik ve Kardeşlik Projesi ) document and introduced an approach that centers “around the notion of individual rights and general minority rights” (Yadırgı, 2017, p. 230) while retaining the Turkish state discourse of undermining the social base of terror by socioeconomic measures. Similar to the previous governments, these socioeconomic actions included promotion of regional investments, development and infrastructural projects like GAP; but AKP's National Unity project also put an emphasis on the role of social policies including social assistance provision as a way of preventing terror by “extending the compassionate hand of the state to citizens” (AK Parti, 2010, p. 39).…”