The Kurds in Erdoğan’s Turkey: Balancing Identity, Resistance and Citizenship

281 Pages·2020·7.777 MB·English

by  William Gourlay

EDINBURGH STUDIES ON
MODERN TURKEY
T H E
K U R D S I N
E R D O Ğ A N ’ S
T U R K E Y
Balancing Identity, Resistance
and Citizenship
WILLIAM GOURLAY
˘
THE KURDS IN ERDOGAN’S TURKEY
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Edinburgh Studies on Modern Turkey
Series General Editors: Alpaslan Özerdem, Dean of the School for Confl ict Analysis and
Resolution and Professor of Peace and Confl ict Studies at George Mason University, VA, and
Ahmet Erdi Öztürk, Lecturer in International Relations and Politics at London Metropolitan
University and an affi liated scholar at the Institute for Research on Migration, Ethnicity and
Society (REMESO) at Linköping University, Sweden.
Series Advisory Board: Ayşe Kadıoğlu (Harvard University), Hakan Yavuz (University of
Utah), Samim Akgönül (University of Strasbourg), Rebecca Bryant (Utrecht University),
Nukhet Ahu Sandal (Ohio University), Mehmet Gurses (Florida Atlantic University), Paul
Kubicek (Oakland University), Sinem Akgül Açıkmeşe (Kadir Has University), Gareth
Jenkins (Institute for Security and Development Policy), Stephen Karam (World Bank), Peter
Mandaville (George Mason University).
Edinburgh Studies on Modern Turkey is an outlet for academic works that examine the
domestic and international issues of the Turkish republic from its establishment in the 1920s
until the present. Th is broadly defi ned frame allows the series to adopt both interdisciplinary
and trans-disciplinary approaches, covering research on the country’s history and culture
as well as political, religious and socio-economic developments. Th e titles provide wide-
ranging discussions of Turkey within its local and global context, utilising an eclectic range
of methodological and theoretical approaches that include non-Western political and critical
theory. Th e series is marked by openness and invites both detailed, area-specifi c case studies as
well as broadly construed, interdisciplinary surveys of topics that are appropriately framed by
the theme of the series.
Published and forthcoming titles
Th e Kurds in Erdoğan’s Turkey: Balancing Identity, Resistance and Citizenship
William Gourlay
Religion, Identity and Power: Turkey and the Balkans in the Twenty-First Century
Ahmet Erdi Öztürk
edinburghuniversitypress.com/series/esmt
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THE KURDS
˘
IN ERDOGAN’S
TURKEY
Balancing Identity, Resistance and
Citizenship
William Gourlay
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Edinburgh University Press is one of the leading university presses in the UK. We publish
academic books and journals in our selected subject areas across the humanities and social
sciences, combining cutting-edge scholarship with high editorial and production values to
produce academic works of lasting importance. For more information visit our website:
edinburghuniversitypress.com
© William Gourlay, 2020
Edinburgh University Press Ltd
Th e Tun – Holyrood Road
12(2f) Jackson’s Entry
Edinburgh EH8 8PJ
Typeset in 11/15 Adobe Garamond by
IDSUK (DataConnection) Ltd, and
printed and bound in Great Britain
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 4744 5919 8 (hardback)
ISBN 978 1 4744 5922 8 (webready PDF)
ISBN 978 1 4744 5921 1 (epub)
Th e right of William Gourlay to be identifi ed as the author of this work has been asserted
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, and the Copyright and
Related Rights Regulations 2003 (SI No. 2498).
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CONTENTS
List of Figures vi
Acknowledgements vii
Introduction: Eruption in Diyarbakır 1
1 Identity, ethnicity, politics: from Kemalism to ‘New Turkey’ 18
2 Talking to Kurds about ‘Identity’ 43
3 Demarcating Kurdish culture 59
4 Th e Kurds and Islam: defying hegemony and the ‘caliphate’ 84
5 Contesting homeland(s): city, soil and landscape 112
6 Kurdayetî: Pan-Kurdish sentiment and solidarity 141
7 Oppression, solidarity, resistance 167
8 Kurds as citizens 193
Conclusion: reconciling ethnic identity, citizenship and the
‘ideal’ in Erdoğan’s Turkey? 221
Bibliography 235
Index 266
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FIGURES
I.1 Kurdish boys outside the walls of Diyarbakır, June 2015.
© William Gourlay 13
1.1 Dancing during the Gezi Park protests, Istanbul, June 2013.
© William Gourlay 34
2.1 Street life in Sur, Diyarbakır, June 2015. © William Gourlay 45
2.2 Kurdish boys in the backstreets of Diyarbakır, October 2014.
© William Gourlay 49
4.1 Performance of Kurdish, Turkish, Armenian song, Cathedral
of Surp Giragos, Diyarbakır, June 2013. © William Gourlay 103
5.1 Th e Hasan Paşa Han, Diyarbakır, November 2014.
© William Gourlay 118
6.1 Graffi ti in Kadıköy, Istanbul, November 2014. It reads, in
Kurdish, ‘Long live the Kobanî resistance’. © William Gourlay 151
7.1 Crowds gather at the HDP rally, Diyarbakır, 5 June 2015.
© William Gourlay 184
8.1 Dancing at HDP rally, Diyarbakır, 5 June 2015.
© William Gourlay 204
C.1 Kurds dance the govend in Eminönü, Istanbul, following the
HDP’s electoral success in June 2015. © William Gourlay 226
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
While there is only one name in the byline, there are many people
who have contributed to the creation of this book, a project that has
taken almost a quarter of a century to bear fruit. I must fi rst acknowledge
Associate Professors Pete Lentini and Ben MacQueen who supervised the
thesis from which the book arises; thanks also to Andrew Singleton who gave
shape to the thesis in its early days. During the marathon of thesis creation
I shared regular Chocolate Hobnobs and the odd glass of vin rouge with
many co-tenants in Room H5.57 – I thank them for their support and good
cheer. In particular, I note the friendship, advice and encouragement of Dara
Conduit, who has travelled a similar research-writing-publishing trajectory.
Ahmet, Çemen and Gülen Polat helped demystify Turkish for me on many
occasions. Janet McGarry was also extremely helpful in tracking down hard-
to-fi nd Turkish texts.
I would also like to acknowledge Shahram Akbarzadeh and Kerry O’Brien,
who told me to aim high. Many members of the Kurdish Studies Network have
responded to my queries. I thank Istanbul Şehir University for facilitating my
research time in Turkey. Tezcan Gümüş has often off ered help and translation
skills. For several years, Bahar Başer has been a source of encouragement and
quintessential Turkish warmth. Custodian of arcane Anatolian knowledge and
Turkey-wide contacts, Pat Yale has been a great advocate and friend for decades
– one day we will fi nally catch up in Diyarbakır, Pat!
vii
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viii | the kurds in erdoğan’s turkey
Th anks also to Wayne Murphy for the wonderful map, and particular thanks
to Martin Van Bruinessen for his helpful suggestions, keen eye and kind words.
Adela Rauchova was extremely patient and encouraging in the conceptu-
alisation of this book. I thank Erdi Özturk and Alp Özerdem for allowing me
to be a part of their new series. At Edinburgh University Press I have enjoyed
working with Nicola Ramsey, Kirsty Woods, Emma Rees, Eliza Wright, Ian
Brooke and Bekah Dey. My thanks also to the reviewers whose comments
undoubtedly made this a better book. I must also note that I remain respon-
sible for any errors or omissions.
Finally, heartfelt thanks to the countless Turks and Kurds who have off ered
advice, friendship, occasional directions, numerous cups of çay, generosity and
spontaneous hospitality over many trips to Turkey. I am especially grateful to
the many Kurds, in Diyarbakır, Istanbul and elsewhere, who put up with my
questioning, generously giving their time and sharing their experiences to pro-
vide the data that made this book possible. My fervent hope is that all of the
citizens of Turkey, regardless of ethnicity or religious affi liation, might live in a
system that grants them the freedom and democracy that they deserve. Yaşasın
özgürlük/Her bijî azadî!
Chapter 4 is based on William Gourlay (2018): ‘Beyond “brotherhood”
and the “caliphate”: Kurdish relationships to Islam in an era of AKP authori-
tarianism and ISIS terror’, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, DOI:
10.1080/13530194.2018.1534679, © 2018 British Society for Middle Eastern
Studies, reprinted by permission of Taylor & Francis Ltd, http://www.tandfon-
line.com on behalf of British Society for Middle Eastern Studies. Parts of Chapters
5 and 7 are from William Gourlay (2018) ‘Th e Kurds and the “Others”: Kurdish
politics as an inclusive, multi-ethnic vehicle in Turkey’, Journal of Muslim Minor-
ity Aff airs, 38(4), pp. 475–92, © Institute of Muslim Minority Aff airs, reprinted
by permission of Taylor & Francis Ltd, on behalf of Institute of Muslim Minority
Aff airs. Chapter 6 is derived in part from William Gourlay (2018), ‘Kurdayetî:
Pan-Kurdish solidarity and cross-border links in times of war and trauma’, Middle
East Critique, 27(1), pp. 25–42, © Editors of Middle East Critique, reprinted by
permission of Taylor & Francis Ltd, on behalf of Editors of Middle East Critique.
Chapter 7 is derived in part from William Gourlay (2018) ‘Oppression, solidar-
ity, resistance: Th e forging of Kurdish identity in Turkey’, Ethnopolitics, 17(2),
pp. 130–46, © Th e Editor of Ethnopolitics, reprinted by permission of Taylor &
Francis Ltd, on behalf of Th e Editor of Ethnopolitics.
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For Claire, Bridget and Tommy, my favourite travel companions of all time,
and Mum and Dad, who always encouraged every journey,
however conceived, and reminded: profunda cernit.
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