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The politics of identity, recognition and multiculturalism: the K urds in T urkey
Author(s) -
Kuzu Durukan
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
nations and nationalism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.655
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1469-8129
pISSN - 1354-5078
DOI - 10.1111/nana.12139
Subject(s) - identity (music) , politics , sociology , normative , multiculturalism , harm , identity politics , autonomy , authoritarianism , state (computer science) , gender studies , political science , law , aesthetics , democracy , philosophy , pedagogy , algorithm , computer science
The politics of identity and recognition regarding the K urds in T urkey has gained momentum since 2002 but has never been implemented fully. The rightful critics emphasising the continuity of the State's authoritarian character, however, have not so far analysed if their own normative suggestions are theoretically consistent and sociologically grounded. Based on the Author's fieldwork and contemporary social surveys, this article shows that there are conflicting views within the K urdish community about the forms that the politics of recognition could take. By exploring the conflicts of interest within the K urdish community from a bottom‐up approach, the article concludes that the recognition of an authentic K urdish identity is problematic sociologically. It is also more likely to harm than help the K urds in the country from a normative perspective. The article explains how the quest for an authentic K urdish political identity and attempts to generate it actually limit the individual autonomy and exacerbate the disparity between the T urks and the K urds in the country.