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The Europeanization process and Kurdish nationalism in Turkey: the case of the Democratic Society Party

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

İbrahim Saylan
İbrahim Saylan*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey
*
* Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This study aims at analyzing the impact of the European integration process on Kurdish nationalism in Turkey by focusing on the Democratic Society Party (Demokratik Toplum Partisi, DTP) as the major pro-Kurdish political party in Turkey between 2005 and 2009. It argues that the Europeanization process in Turkey, which accelerated in the post-Helsinki period, has brought about some important consequences concerning the recognition and expression of Kurdish identity. The study examines Europe's impact on the DTP through analysis of party documents and interviews with party representatives, in order to investigate the meaning and use of the European integration process in the DTP's sub-state nationalist ideology. This analysis shows that, although the Europeanization process in Turkey has somewhat broadened opportunity structures for Kurdish sub-state nationalist politics, overall the EU's impact on the DTP's nationalist politics has remained indirect and limited.

Keywords

DTPKurdish nationalismopportunity structuresEuropean integration
Type
Articles
Information
Nationalities Papers , Volume 40 , Issue 2 , March 2012 , pp. 185 - 202
Copyright
Copyright © 2012 Association for the Study of Nationalities 

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