The State and Kurds in Turkey

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Metin Heper

   Pages 1-12

3. Tolerance as Acceptance

   • Metin Heper

   Pages 13-34

4. Distant Though Not Rejected

   • Metin Heper

   Pages 35-57

5. Search for a New Identity

   • Metin Heper

   Pages 58-82

6. Nation in the Making

   • Metin Heper

   Pages 83-109

7. Turks’ Brothers

   • Metin Heper

   Pages 110-143

8. Times of ‘Troubles’

   • Metin Heper

   Pages 144-176

9. Conclusion

   • Metin Heper

   Pages 177-186

10. Back Matter

    Pages 187-249

    PDF

Uniquely, Metin Heper suggests a theory of acculturation (rather than assimilation) captures the nature of State-Kurd interaction in Turkey, by not leaving any part of that interaction unaccounted for.

• acceptance
• acculturation
• assimilation
• identity
• interaction
• nature
• state

'Metin Heper has written a meticulous analysis of the relationship between the Kurds and the Ottoman and Turkish Republican states. His unique perspective offers a great many illuminating insights into this troubled relationship. Those who are interested in the Kurds, in Turkey, and in ethnic politics in the Middle East more generally may benefit enormously from a careful reading of this scholarly work.' - Frank Tachau, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA

'This is an important book by a major scholar of Turkish politics on a central topic - one of broad interest to people in comparative politics, to those interested in ethnicity and ethnic relations, and to specialists of the history and politics of modern Turkey. Professor Heper has given us an original and incisive analysis based on his impressive and detailed research. The State and Kurds in Turkey makes a significant contribution to the growing literature on the politics of ethnic accommodation.' - Sabri Sayari, Professor of Social and Political Studies, Sabanci University, Turkey

'Professor Metin Heper's study of the policies of successive Turkish governments towards their citizens of Kurdish origin conduces to an understanding of the complexity of an evolving relationship which, for all its difficulties, has succeeded in bringing together the great majority of the country's inhabitants in a common allegiance based on a common interest. I would urge interested outsiders to read this pioneering study by a Turkish academic on a subject which - to paraphrase a well-known lyric - has been treated as everyone's business, but the Turk's.' - Andrew Mango, author of Atatürk: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey

'Metin Heper's The State and Kurds in Turkey, a comprehensive treatment of this complex topic, is a significant contribution that is long overdue. It provides both a sound historical background and examines the question within its broader social, political, and cultural context. Wading carefully across a wide variety of original sources, some of which had been grossly neglected in the context of emerging Turkish nationalism and identity since the nineteenth century, Heper succeeds in presenting coherent essay.' - Professor Ahmet O. Evin, Sabanci University and the Istanbul Policy Center, Turkey

'Professor Heper has provided a detailed and fascinating account of the development of an important aspect of modern Turkey, as well as a valuable account of the sort of difficulties that nationalism encounters in trying to build a modern state, especially in the midst of ethnic diversity. It is, in an important sense, part of the common and continuing European story.' - David W. Lovell, The European Legacy

• Bilkent University, Turkey

  Metin Heper

METIN HEPER is Professor of Politics and Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences at Bilkent University, Turkey and is a founding and Council member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences. He served as Research Fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Manchester, UK, and Harvard Universities and as Visiting Professor at the University of Connecticut and Brandeis and Princeton Universities. His books include State Tradition in Turkey, Ismet Inönü: The Making of a Turkish Statesman, and the Historical Dictionary of Turkey.

Policies and ethics