Opinion Leaders and Peace Committees in Kurdish Society

Abstract

Throughout history, the Kurdish people maintained a largely rural lifestyle. However, starting in the 20th century, the transition to a settled lifestyle began in full force. The Kurds in Turkey migrated to the cities largely because of agricultural mechanization and increasing rural population density in the 1970s. In the 1990s, millions of Kurds were moved away from rural areas through forced migration. These migratory movements disrupted the traditional Kurdish social order. In the original Kurdish structure, elites such as mirals, gentlemen, aghas, and sheiks ruled the political-economic-social relations. At each stage in the population shift, roles were rearranged in the hierarchy. Some of these actors, which are today often called "opinion leaders," have lost their old roles over time, while others maintained them, though with different names and under different authority figures. In Kurdish society, accustomed to living far from the control of central state authorities, peace committees carrying out reconciliation organizations were also affected by the change of role.The aim of this paper is to question the roles and positions of opinion leaders in today's Kurdish society and to evaluate the effectiveness of peace committees. This research is made up of observations, research notes, and interviews conducted between 2014 and 2017 in Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa, Batman, Siirt, Şırnak, and Mardin.