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Multiculturalism, recognition and the "Kurdish question" in Turkey: the outline of a normative framework

Ozkirimli, Umut LU (2014) In Democratization 21(6). p.1055-1073
Abstract
Despite the ever-growing literature on various aspects of the Kurdish question in Turkey, there are practically no normative discussions of Kurdish demands for the public recognition of their identities. This is all the more startling given the ascendancy of philosophical accounts in the literature on minority rights. This article will try to redress the balance by proposing a normative framework that could be used to justify Kurdish demands for recognition, drawing on the broader debates that revolve around Charles Taylor's seminal conceptualization of "the politics of recognition". In this context, I will identify nationalism, a strategy used both by the state to suppress demands for recognition and by the minorities to put forward these... (More)
Despite the ever-growing literature on various aspects of the Kurdish question in Turkey, there are practically no normative discussions of Kurdish demands for the public recognition of their identities. This is all the more startling given the ascendancy of philosophical accounts in the literature on minority rights. This article will try to redress the balance by proposing a normative framework that could be used to justify Kurdish demands for recognition, drawing on the broader debates that revolve around Charles Taylor's seminal conceptualization of "the politics of recognition". In this context, I will identify nationalism, a strategy used both by the state to suppress demands for recognition and by the minorities to put forward these demands, as the most serious hurdle in the way of the democratic resolution of the "Kurdish question" in Turkey and promote a form of recognition-based multiculturalism that (a) respects the basic rights of all citizens, not only those in whose name the said claims are made, but also those of the members of the majority against which the claims are voiced; (b) leaves room for alternative values or conceptions of the good life. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
recognition, multiculturalism, Turkey, nationalism, Kurds, Kurdish, question
in
Democratization
volume
21
issue
6
pages
1055 - 1073
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • wos:000344545700005
  • scopus:84920083430
ISSN
1351-0347
DOI
10.1080/13510347.2013.782289
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e4052272-63e6-4bbe-a477-42e9b755ef4c (old id 4871364)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:07:14
date last changed
2023-09-17 09:46:37
@article{e4052272-63e6-4bbe-a477-42e9b755ef4c,
  abstract     = {{Despite the ever-growing literature on various aspects of the Kurdish question in Turkey, there are practically no normative discussions of Kurdish demands for the public recognition of their identities. This is all the more startling given the ascendancy of philosophical accounts in the literature on minority rights. This article will try to redress the balance by proposing a normative framework that could be used to justify Kurdish demands for recognition, drawing on the broader debates that revolve around Charles Taylor's seminal conceptualization of "the politics of recognition". In this context, I will identify nationalism, a strategy used both by the state to suppress demands for recognition and by the minorities to put forward these demands, as the most serious hurdle in the way of the democratic resolution of the "Kurdish question" in Turkey and promote a form of recognition-based multiculturalism that (a) respects the basic rights of all citizens, not only those in whose name the said claims are made, but also those of the members of the majority against which the claims are voiced; (b) leaves room for alternative values or conceptions of the good life.}},
  author       = {{Ozkirimli, Umut}},
  issn         = {{1351-0347}},
  keywords     = {{recognition; multiculturalism; Turkey; nationalism; Kurds; Kurdish; question}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{1055--1073}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Democratization}},
  title        = {{Multiculturalism, recognition and the "Kurdish question" in Turkey: the outline of a normative framework}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2013.782289}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/13510347.2013.782289}},
  volume       = {{21}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}