Ontological (In)Security and the Kurdish Issue in Turkey: The Use of Security Discourse (1925‒1984)

How could one account for the discourse of security used by the Turkish state considering the Kurdish issue before 1984, when the terrorist attacks of the Partiya Karkaren Kurdistani (PKK) had not yet started, and hence there was no physical security threat against the state? This article aims to answer this question from the perspective of ontological (in)security. Based on Critical Discourse Analysis of state discourse, the article argues that the political, social and cultural traits of Kurdish identity created uncertainty in the Turkish self after the Sheikh Said rebellion in 1925. Tribal/religious structures that were influential among Kurds and the expression of Kurdishness as a distinct identity disrupted the autobiographical narratives about Turkishness, hence generating ontological insecurity for the Turkish state. To overcome this problem, the state relied on security discourse and securitized the traits of Kurdish identity, by which it felt threatened. As a result of this securitization, the state was able to legitimize the extraordinary measures taken against Kurds, such as forced resettlements. Securitization, in this sense, regenerated ontological security for the state, because the extraordinary measures served to suppress the Kurdish identity that threatened the certainty and continuity of the Turkish self.

On the Collateral Impact of Turkey’s Authoritarian Turn: Re-securitization of the Kurdish Issue and the Kurds’ Struggle for Minority Recognition and Self-Determination

Since the collapse of the peace process in 2015, the Turkish Government has sought to turn every move towards Kurdish rights into an existential threat – a process led to the re-securitization of the Kurdish question. Ever since the descent of Turkey into an authoritarian polity has begun in the aftermath of the June 2015 elections, the Kurdish minority has suffered a brutal crackdown marked by high of political imprisonment and greater restrictions on freedom of assembly and association and on electoral aspects of self-determination. This commentary will take a closer look at the dire consequences of the collateral impact of Turkey’s authoritarian turn on the Kurdish political movement from the perspectives of minority rights and self-determination.

Communist Europe and the Kurdish Question During the Cold War (1940s 1980s)

While abundant scholarship has been produced concerning the Kurdish diaspora in Western Europe, little is known about the development of Kurdish communities in Central and Eastern Europe, especially during the Cold War. This paper analyses the specific situation of the Kurds in Communist Europe through the prism of Bulgaria, a frontline country in direct contact with the Middle East from the 1940s until the end of the 1980s. It demonstrates the weight of diplomatic and economic factors in explaining the persistent difficulty faced by Central European regimes in conceiving of the Kurdish issue beyond separate national fighting grounds. Abstract in Kurmanji Ewropaya komunîst û pirsgirêka kurd li serdema Şerê Sar (salên 1940î-1980î) Li gel berdariya xebatên akademîk ên li ser diyasporaya kurd li Ewropaya rojava, em xwediyên agahiyên pir kêm in li ser pêkhatina civatên kurd li Ewropaya naverast û rojhilat, nemase li serdema Şerê Sar. Ev nivîsar li rewşa taybet a Kurdên Ewropaya komunîst dikole û bi xusûsî li ser Bulgaristanê disekine, ku welatekî li ser sînor e û, ji salên 1940î ta dawiya salên 1980î, rasterast bi Rojhilata Navîn re di nav têkiliyan de bû. Bi vî hawî, nivîsar giraniya faktorên aborî û dîplomatîk derdixe pêş bo ravekirina zehmetiyên mayînde yên rejîmên Ewropaya naverast di ponijîna pirsgirêka kurd li derveyî meydanên ceng ên neteweyên cihê de. Abstract in Sorani Ewrupay komonîzt û dozî Kurdekan le serdemî cengî sarda (sallekanî 1940-1980) Le ‌katêk da twêjînewey zor le ser Kurdekan le Ewrupay rojawa, le tarawge berhemhênrawe, zanyarî kem le ser geşesendinî komellgey kurdî le Ewropay nawerrast û rojhellatî da heye, be taybetî le serdemî Cengî Sar da. Em twêjînewey şirovey barudoxî taybetî Kurdekanî Ewrupay komonîzt le rêgay Bulgaryawe, ke dewlletêkî berey ceng bû û peywendî rastewxoy legell Rojhellatî Nawerrast da le sallanî 1940ewe ta 1980ewe hebuwe. Twêjîneweke qursayî faktere dîplomatî û abûriyekan derdexat, be rûnkirdinewey astengî hewlle ‌berdawemekanî rûberruwî rijêmekanî Ewrupay nawerrast botewe le têgeyştin le dozî Kurdekan be der le kêşeyekî rûberrûbunewey neteweyi serbexo. Abstract in Zazaki Ewropaya komunîste û wextê Cengê Serdinî de (1940an-1980an) mesela kurdan Herçiqas ke derheqê dîyasporaya kurdanê Ewropaya Rojawanî de xeylê eserê zanyarî ameyê dayene kî, derheqê averşîyayîşê komelanê kurdanê Ewropaya Mîyanên û Rojhelatî de zanayîş hîna kêmî yo, bitaybetî demê Cengê Serdinî ser o. No nuşte rewşa taybetî yê kurdanê Ewropaya Komunîste analîz keno. Analîz pê prîzmaya Bulgarîstanî yeno kerdene: welatêkê serê cebheyî ke 1940an ra heta peynîya 1980an Rojhelatê Mîyanênî de têkilîya xo ya rasteraste estbî. Bi musnayîşê giranîya faktoranê ekonomîk û dîplomatîkan ra îzah beno ke rejîmanê Ewropaya Mîyanêne cenggehanê neteweyîyanê cîyakerdeyan ra teber fehmkerdişê mesela kurdan de tim zehmetîye antêne.

The impact of the Kurdish issue in Iraqi-Turkish relations after 2003

The Kurdish issue is one of the sensitive issues in Iraqi-Turkish relations since the establishment of the Iraqi state in 1921 until the present day. At the beginning of the nineties of the last century, the emergence of a Kurdish entity began on the borders of Turkey, in return, the Kurds of Iraq established autonomy independent of the central government and established political institutions Independent that reflected the circumstances that arose after the Iraqi forces were expelled from Kuwait in 1991. These circumstances created a worrying situation for the Iraqi and Turkish governments, and Turkey had to take into account its interests in order to preserve its national security. As for the new reality after the American occupation of Iraq in 2003, It has produced a more dangerous reality, represented by the increase of Kurdish demands, leading to the establishment of a state independent of Iraq, and this represents a threat to the national unity of the two countries, which is rejected by other neighboring countries such as Iran and Syria, which include the presence of Kurdish minorities in it and accordingly there are commonalities between the two countries and this is what the details of the research answer and the importance of the research lies In knowing the hinge in Iraqi-Turkish relations, the Kurds desire independence from both countries and the establishment of a new state in Sham The Iraq and southeastern Turkey. Keywords: Autonomy, the central government, the Kurds, the region, the secession

The representation of Turkey in British trade publishing after 15 July 2016. An analysis conducted on the translations from Turkish to English published in the UK

After the 2016 failed coup, the Turkish government implemented a series of measures that strongly restricted democratic freedoms in the country. This caused the UK media to propose a representation of the country in which the coup and the government reaction, together with the concepts of authoritarianism and censorship, played a central part. The present article aims to understand which role British trade publishing played in this new representation, analysing all the translations of trade titles from Turkish to English, published by British publishers in the UK, comparing the periods before (from 1 January 2012 to 15 July 2016) and after the coup (from 16 July 2016 to 31 December 2019). It tries to understand if some central socio-political events of contemporary Turkey, as the coup and its aftermath, the Kurdish issue, and Turkish intervention in the Syrian war, have had more space in the translations published in the UK after the coup. It also investigates if, after the coup, the choice of titles and authors to translate has been influenced, and if given paratextual elements (specifically, books’ descriptions on the British publishers’ websites) have shown a tendency of being linked to Turkey’s contemporary socio-political situation. It then presents an evaluation of the behaviour of British trade publishers toward the coup and their new focus on the state of Turkish democracy.

The Echo of Political Developments in Kurdistan - Iraq (February 8th - November 18th , 1963) In the Palestinian press (Palestine Newspaper) as a model

Palestine Newspaper is one of the most important Palestinian newspapers, as it was published during (1911-1967). The newspaper attached great importance to the political developments in Iraq and Kurdistan, following the February 8th, 1963 coup, until the November 18th, 1963 coup. Since the first day of the coup, it followed the Kurds' position towards it, and then a Kurdish delegation went to conduct negotiations in Baghdad. Closely, the newspaper kept following the developments of those negotiations. It was constantly relaying the statements of Iraqi and Kurdish officials about negotiations. Until fighting broke out again on June 10th, 1963, when the newspaper published almost daily governmental data regarding its military operations in Kurdistan. The newspaper also followed and published the data and statements of the leadership of the Kurdish revolution. As well as following up on the positions of other countries on the Kurdish issue, especially the Soviet Union and Syria. In fact, the newspaper is one of the good and important sources on the developments of the Kurdish national movement in Iraq at that stage. Keywords: Palestine Newspaper , Iraq, Kurdistan, Ba'ath Party, Soviet Union.