Interaction of Nation, Religion and Class Building Kurdish Consensus in Turkey
Cuma Çiçek
Sciences Po
In this PhD I defend the thesis that the Kurdish issues are historical and social constructs of the central state and of different Kurdish actors, which all have different ideological and political orientations, ideas, and interests, and which all have established formal and informal institutions. In this research, I analyze the question of the three main types of Kurdish groups -national, religious and economic- cooperate to establish a consensus on a common purpose: a political Kurdish region in Turkey. I problematize the capacity of these three groups to establish a common cognitive frame, shared interests and accepted rules to form a political Kurdish region. In other words, I ask whether three Kurdish groups can found a political region in the historically existing Kurdish cultural region in Turkey. Thus conflicts, negotiations, cooperation and consensus of these three Kurdish groups on the Kurdish issue are the main subjects of this research. But how can we define the problems that the Kurds have in Turkey? Is there a Kurdish ...
Introduction - 19 A - Problematic: A Kurdish Political Region? / 19 B - Theoretical Frame / 23 C – Methodology / 26 D - Outline of Thesis / 5
First Part: Theoretical Framework, Basic Hypotheses and Actors / 39
I - Chapter 1 Theoretical Framework and Basic Hypotheses / 41 Introduction / 41 A - Three Kurdish blocs / 45 1) The Kurdish national bloc / 45 2) The Kuntedt religious bloc / 46 3) The Kurdish economic bloc/elite / 47 B - Five Constraints or/and resources of collective action / 48 1) Historically constructed context / 48 2) Central State / 56 3) Geopolitics of the Kurdish Issue / 58 4) Europeanization: A temporary and limited resource / 62 5) Globalization: Multi-level and multi-dimensional system of action / 68 6) Mobilization of resources by the actors / 74 C - Time period: 1999-2013 / 75 D - Three I Model: Ideas, Interests, Institutions / 76 1) Sociology of collective action / 77 2) The "Three I" Model / 79 3) Constructivist institutionalism and "Three I" model / 81 E - Basic Hypotheses / 83 1) Main hypothesis / 83 2) Kurdish Region: A Historical Construct / 83 3) Diverse Kurdish Issues / 84 4) Conflicts / 85 5) Negotiation and Consensus / 76 6) Constraints and Resources / 87
II - Chapter 2 Actors: Kurdish National, Religious and Economic Blocs / 91
Introduction / 91 A - Theoretical frame for the construction of collective identity / 93 B - The Kurdish national bloc / 97 1) The leading Kurdish Movement (BDP-DTK/PKK-KCK) / 99 2) Rights and Freedoms Party (HAK-PAR) / 112 3) Participatory Democracy Party (KADEP) / 112 4) Other political groups / 113 C - The Kurdish religious bloc / 115 1) Kurdish pro-Islamism: Periphery of Turkish nationalist pro-Islamism after 1950s / 115 2) Autonomization and Radicalization of Kurdish pro-Islamism? / 123 3) Alevi Kurds / 128 D - The Kurdish economic bloc/elites / 134 1) Destructive economic effects of Armenian genocide on the Kurdish region / 135 2) Construction of the Kurdish region as a peripheral economy / 136 3) Incorporation of the Kurdish ruling class into the ruling elite / 139 4) Weak and center-dependent Kurdish economic elites / 140 Conclusion / 141
Second Part: Conflicts and Negotiations / 145
III - Chapter 3 Religion, Nation and Identity Conflicts: Muslim, Alevi Or Kurd? / 147 Introduction / 147 A - Identity conflicts, interaction and state intervention / 151 1) Secular national groups and pro-Islamist revision / 151 2) Pro-Islamist groups and revision on the national issue / 152 3) State intervention in the ideational conflicts / 153 4) The PKK - KH conflict and a mutual learning process / 154 6 - Socialist, secular, dis-gendered social imaginary of the Kurdish region / 156 1) The KCK Contract / 156 2) Political identity of the BDP / 157 3) Democratic autonomy project / 159 C - Pro-Islamist social imaginary of the Kurdish region / 161 1) Ethnicity and Nation: Inappropriate bases for the social order / 161 2) Pro-Islamists’ perception about the BDP-DTK/PKK-KCK: An anti-Islamist movement / 164 3) The gender issue: The heart of the ideational confrontation / 166 4) Islam as the principal basis of social order / 168 D -Alevi identity-based social imaginary? / 172 1) The priority of Alevi identity over the national identity / 174 2) Laicism as a political assurance / 176 3) Left-wing and oppositional identity in the social imaginary of Alevis / 178 E - Sunni-Muslim, Alevi, Zaza: Relational political constructs? / 180 1) Political construction of Alevi Identity / 181 2) Zaza Identity: A resource of political mobilization / 182 3) Turkish state intervention into the construction of the Zaza and Alevi identities / 185 Conclusion: Politically constructed plural identities / 187
IV - Chapter 4 Nation or Class: Conflict of Interest / 191 Introduction / 191 A-A theoretical frame on conflict of interest / 192 B- Kurdish movement: Between nation and class / 194 1) Economic elite: "Unreliable", "weak”, "state-dependent" actors / 197 2) State violence towards the Kurdish economic elites / 200 3) Economic aspects of the democratic autonomy project / 201 4) Constant alliance of the BDP-DTK/PKK-KCK with Turkish Left / 205 C - Kurdish economic elites: Between state and BDP-DTK/PKK-KCK / 207 1) The state's discriminatory policies towards Kurdish region / 207 2) BDP-DTK/PKK-KCK: "An irrelevant actor in economic areas” / 211 3) Democratic autonomy: "An unrealistic authoritarian project" / 215 Conclusion / 219
V - Chapter 5 Conflict on Institutional Form of Kurdish Political Region: Decentralization, Regionalization or Federation / 223 Introduction / 223 A - Local decentralization / 225 1) Economic elite and local decentralization / 226 2) Religious groups and local decentralization / 230 B - Federation / 233 1) National groups and federation / 234 2) Pro-Islamist groups and federation / 237 C - Regionalization or democratic autonomy / 241 1) Democratic autonomy: an open-ended project? / 242 2) Self-government and colIectrveewftorWTTgSlB^Wwds / 245 3) Democracy, pluralism and efficiency of public administration / 246 Conclusion / 251
VI - Chapter 6 Negotiations Among Three Kurdish Blocs / 255 Introduction / 255 A - Negotiations among the national groups / 257 1) Shadow of the past and the trust problem / 258 2) Two failed attempts: Tev-Kurd and DTK / 260 3) Learning process: Recent efforts for the cooperation / 262 B - Direct negotiation between national groups and economic elite / 263 1) Kurdish local government experience and the changed context / 264 2) Existing direct negotiation mechanisms / 266 3) Peace: A shared interest / 268 4) Economic elite and their normative interests / 270 C - Indirect negotiation between the national and religious groups / 273 1) Trust problems / 274 2) Divisions among the pro-Islamist groups / 276 3) Issue of the political pluralism / 277 4) Intermediary organizations and groups / 280 5) Learning Process / 282 6) Negotiations with Kurdish Alevis / 284 Conclusion / 286
Third Part: The System of Action / 289
VII - Chapter 07 The System: Historical, State-Based, Geopolitical, European and Global Dynamics / 291 Introduction / 291 A - History as a constraint and a resource / 293 1) National groups: Nationalized history / 295 2) Economic elite: Assimilation and regional disparities / 296 3) Religious groups and histoiy: Religiously filtered past / 298 B - Central State: A constructive and destructive power / 302 1) AK Party and Kurdish pro-Islamism / 304 2) AK Party and Kurdish economic elite / 305 3) AK Party and Kurdish Alevis / 309 C - Geopolitics: A new frame for the Kurdish issue in Turkey / 311 1) Geopolitical changes and the national groups / 314 2) Geopolitical changes and the economic elite / 320 3) Geopolitical changes and the religious groups / 326 D - Europeanization: A temporary and limited resource / 331 1) National groups and Europeanization / 333 2) Religious groups and Europeanization process / 336 3) The economic elite and Europeanization process / 341 4) Europeanization as a learning process / 344 E- Globalization: Multi-level and multi-dimensional system of action / 345 1) Globalization as a resource for a multi-level and multi-dimensional learning process / 346 2) Global and trans-national system of action / 349 Conclusion / 351
Conclusion: Towards A Kurdish Political Region? / 355 A - Theoretical conclusions / 356 B - Empricial conclusion / 360 lJThe system: Historical, state-based, geopolitical, European and global dynamics / 360 2) Towards a Kurdish political region? / 365 3) Achieved Consensus / 370 C - New research perspectives / 375
Bibliography / 379
Annexes / 407 Annex 1: The List of Interviews with Political Elites / 409 Annex 2: The List of Interviews with Religious Elites / 411 Annex 3: The List of Lnterviews with Economic Elites / 413 Annex 4: The List of Interviews with Cultural And Intellectual Elites / 415 Annex 5: The Field Research Questions and Topics / 417
Tables
Table 1: Place and categories of interviews / 32 Table 2: Interviewers who have a regional influence / 32 Table 3: Categories of interviews according to the sex / 33 Table 4: The principal social imaginaries and their qualities in the Kurdish region / 148 Table 5: Result of Local Election of Provincial in 2004 and 2009 in the Kurdish region / 150 Table 6: The Kurdish groups and their approaches concerning the politico-administratiative and linguistic issues / 224 Table 1 Three Kurdish blocs and the history as constraints resources / 294 Table 2 Three Kurdish blocs and the influence of the geopolitical changes / 313 Table 3 Three Kurdish blocs and Europeanization process / 333
Maps
Map 1: Kurdish political region and places of interviews / 28 Map 2: Kurdish cultural and political regions / 29 Map 3: Kurdish political region in Turkey / 31 Map 4: Socioeconomic development rank in Turkey / 138
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The PhD thesis is a product of a long and exhaustive working process. It is not possible for a researcher to complete a PhD thesis without the various-contributions of others. Many people supported me in different ways in this research. It is not possible to name them all, yet I want to thank some of them in particular.
First of all, I want to thank Mr. Francois Bafoil, my research director, who guided me during the entire research process. This research could not have been achieved without his excellent guidance. Mr. Bafoil has contributed to each part and stage of this research: from the formulation of the research questions, to the preparation offield research guide, from the theoretical frame to the planning of each chapter. Thanks to his multiple readings, stimulant comments, critiques, and advice, I have succeeded in writing each chapter and part of this work. I thank also Mr. Bafoil for his friendly and kind encouragement, which constantly motivated me.
I am grateful to Mrs. Gulten Erkut, my research director during the Master's research I undertook at the Istanbul Technical University Urban and Regional Planning Program. Thanks to Mrs. Erkut, I completed my first research in Diyarbakir, studying its socioeconomic, political and administrative aspects. This study also allowed me to work in Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality for almost three years, to learn a tremendous amount about Diyarbakir and the Kurdish region, and to access the Kurdish elite *s multiple networks.
I thank Ruken Ozsoy, who made a remarkable contribution to the elaboration of the research proposal, which constitutes the initial frame of this work. Dr. Hisyyar Ozsoy and Dr. Serdar §engiil read several chapters, made critical comments; their contributions are greatly appreciated. I must also mention Dr. Merve Ozdemirkiran, Giulia C. Romano, my dear colleagues at CERI, andRojda Azizoglu, MassoudDryazi, Firai Bozgah. The discussions that I had with them opened new horizons to and allowed me to elaborate upon both the theoretical frame and the field research.
I offer all my gratitude to my dear friends, who allowed their time to aid me in the arrangement of the interviews. I must particularly mention Irfan U$ar and Miro in Diyarbakir, Murat Polat and Mahmul Nizam. Ozlida&.m Dersim, Muhittin Kaya, Yusuf Baluken and Serdar Hoca in Bingol, Rezan Azizoglu and Atilla Fir at in Ankara. I could not have contacted many Kurdish political, economic and religious elites without their help.
During the field research I traveled many times between Paris and nine cities of Turkey. Many friends opened their doors and hosted me in their home. I particularly want to thank Ergin Opengin, Massoud Dryazi, Cristina Llagostera Pennies, Eylem Kog, Serra Torun Rojda Azizoglu, Ozgiir Karahan, IhsanKarahan etAyselEzgi in Paris, Ayfer Akbayir and her father and mother in Dersim, Serdar §engiil and Birgiil Agikyildiz in Mardin. I really appreciate their hospitality.
I wrote a remarkable part of my thesis in Open Space of CERT. Many thanks to the whole team of CER1 for their support and contribution to the all PhD candidates. I am grateful to Elyse Franko-Filipasic for undertaking the work of correcting linguistic mistakes. I offer my heartfelt thanks to Ozlem Atay and Ru§en Werdi for not only correcting the linguistic mistakes of French Summary of this work, but also their warm friendship and contributions to my work during the PhD research. I owe a lot to them.
This research could not be achieved without the financial support of The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Kurdish Institute of Paris. I appreciate their contritubutions. Lastly, I offer all my gratitude to every one who accepted my requests for interviews and allowed their personal time. What make this research valuable and original are essentially their ideas that they shared with me during the interviews.
Introduction
A - Problematic: A Kurdish Political Region?
In this PhD I defend the thesis that the Kurdish issues are historical and social constructs of the central state and of different Kurdish actors, which all have different ideological and political orientations, ideas, and interests, and which all have established formal and informal institutions. In this research, I analyze the question of the three main types of Kurdish groups -national, religious and economic- cooperate to establish a consensus on a common purpose: a political Kurdish region in Turkey. I problematize the capacity of these three groups to establish a common cognitive frame, shared interests and accepted rules to form a political Kurdish region. In other words, I ask whether three Kurdish groups can found a political region in the historically existing Kurdish cultural region in Turkey. Thus conflicts, negotiations, cooperation and consensus of these three Kurdish groups on the Kurdish issue are the main subjects of this research.
But how can we define the problems that the Kurds have in Turkey? Is there a Kurdish issue or are there many Kurdish issues? Does the notion of the “Kurdish issue” that most of the actors commonly use refer to a single question, or to diverse questions of different actors who have contentious ideological and political orientations, and normative and material interests?
Is die Kurdish issue a problem of identity as most of the actors argue? Indeed, the problem of identity is the most highlighted and indisputable characteristic of the Kurdish issue. According to most Kurdish groups, the root of the matter lies in the policies of denial and assimilation that the Turkish nation-state has imposed on the Kurds since the 1920s. However, we cannot talk about an uncontroversial Kurdish identity. The Kurdish identity has different meanings and the actors have varied perceptions on the identity issue. The Kurdish identity refers to both national identity and a religious identity, which have been both conflicted and complementary within the Kurdish context at different time periods.
This aspect poses yet another question: how do we take diversities within these national and religious identities into consideration? The Alevi and Sunni-Muslim Kurds, for example, have some shared points on the identity issue, but also often stand in remarkable conflict. On the other hand, the identity issue presents' dffleicnrproblem for Zazald- (also called Dimili, Kirdki and Kirmancki) and J^wr/wancz-speaking Kurds.
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Cuma Çiçek
Interaction of Nation, Religion and Class Building Kurdish Consensus in Turkey
Sciences Po
Institat d’Etudes Politiques de Paris Ecole Doctorale De Sciences Po Programme doctoral Sciences potitique Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches Internationales Doctorat en science politique Interaction of Nation, Religion and Class Building Kurdish Consensus in Turkey Cuma Çiçek
These dirigee par M. Francois Bafoil, Directeur de recherche CNRS-CERI, IEP de Paris Soutenue le 18 mars 2014
Jury: M. Francois Bafoil, Directeur de recherche, CNRS, CERI M. Henri Barkey, Bernard L., Bertha F. Cohen Professor, Lehigh University, Bethlehem M. Hamit Bozarslan, Directeur d’etudes, CETOBAC, EHESS (rapporteur) Mme. Riva Kastdryano CNRS, CERI M. Romain Pasquier, Directeur de recherche, CNRS, CRAPE (rapporteur)
