Out-group trust and conflict understandings: The perspective of Turks and Kurds in Turkey

Abstract

Conflict reconciliation is difficult in the absence of out-group trust. The current study is concerned with the prolonged Turkish–Kurdish conflict in Turkey and examines out-group trust among both ethnic Kurds and ethnic Turks, in relation to perceptions and interpretations of the conflict (i.e. conflict frames, attributions of responsibility, and justified in-group violence), and to their ethnic and national identification. The results indicate that, across groups, participants had lower out-group trust when they agreed more that the conflict was between ethnic Turks and Kurds, when they blamed the other ethnic group more, and when they considered the in-group violence more justified. In addition, for the Kurds, higher national identification, stronger endorsement of the terrorism frame, higher responsibility attribution to the PKK and lower attributed responsibility to foreign powers were associated with higher trust of the Turks. In contrast, for the Turks, higher national identification and lower attributed responsibility to foreign powers were associated with lower trust of the Kurds.