Minorities In Turkey Research Articles

“I was told that people might hurt me”: Experiences of religious discrimination among Jewish, Christian, and Alevi youth in Turkey

AbstractThis study investigates the experiences of young members of Alevi, Christian, and Jewish religious minorities in Turkey, a secular country with a Sunni Muslim majority. Data was collected through semi structured interviews with 29 participants aged from 17 to 24. A thematic analysis was employed to explore patterns of discrimination and exclusion in their everyday lives. The experiences of Jewish and Christian participants are characterized by ostracism, increased vulnerability to injury, and passing as a member of the majority. Alevi participants report being subjected to intense pressure to become assimilated into majority Sunni practices, as well as frequent exposure to harshly unfavourable stereotypes, and ongoing rejection of Alevi theology as a ‘true’ belief system. The discussion centres on the issue of misrecognition and, particularly, denial of identity, contextualizes the findings into broader dynamics of nation‐state politics, and focuses attention on the agency of minorities and majorities. Limitations of the study and recommendations for future research have also been presented. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Child language brokering in Turkey: non-professional interpreting experiences from Kurdish, Arab, and Pomak ethnic minorities

ABSTRACT This research unveils retrospective child language brokering experiences within local ethnic minorities in Turkey. Employing a multiple-case study research design, the investigation delves into the brokering experiences of three adult participants from diverse ethnic backgrounds – Kurdish, Arab, and Pomak communities. The semi-structured interviews shed light on individual encounters, including primary motivations and settings for brokering, employed translation strategies, perceived impacts of brokering, and the normativity of child language brokering. They also illuminate the societal positioning of these ethnic minorities, especially minority women, within Turkey and the prevailing state policies affecting minority language rights. The findings obtained are discussed in connection with a nuanced exploration of the contextual and historical dimensions surrounding these ethnic minorities. In this sense, departing from the prevailing focus on child language brokering within immigrant families, this research redirects attention to brokering practices among local ethnic minorities. Beyond the preliminary exploration of child language brokering in Turkey, this study is an early investigation into non-professional interpreting activities among ethnic minorities residing in the country. The study also generates implications that intersect the domains of public service interpreting and politics.

The Lausanne conference of 1922–23 and the battle over the conscription of the non-Muslim minorities in Turkey

ABSTRACT The article examines why it was important to the modern republican Turkish state, which saw the non-Muslim minorities as a threat to its security and a potential source of fifth column activities, to propose their inclusion in the draft. In order to answer this question, the article explores the issue of the recruitment of the non-Muslim minorities as presented in the official protocols and in writings of the senior Turkish decision-makers who attended the Lausanne conference of 1922–23. The main argument of this article is that the introduction of non-Muslim conscription in modern Turkey was less an act of integration and more a contribution to two broader aims: demographic engineering to remove ‘suspect’ or ‘unassimilable’ national and religious minorities, and economic Turkification, which aimed to force transfer of property from non-Muslim into Muslim hands.

Stronger Together: The Role of Partner Support in Perceived Relationship Quality among Sexual and Gender Minorities in Turkey

Turkey is a country that provides limited rights for sexual minority and gender diverse (SMGD) individuals. Given this, it is important to understand how SMGD individuals may experience stress and how this may impact their romantic relationships. Grounded in the minority stress model, this study investigated the negative association between minority-related stressors and perceived relationship quality. Furthermore, given the important role partner support plays in mitigating the deleterious effects of stress on one’s relationship, we also examined whether perceived partner support would mediate the negative association between proximal minority-related stress and perceived relationship quality. Results from 117 SMGD individuals living in Turkey supported the hypotheses. Specifically, distal minority-related stress directly predicted proximal minority-related stress. Proximal minority-related stress directly predicted perceived partner support and indirectly predicted perceived relationship quality, as mediated by perceived partner support. Findings and implications for future research and practice are presented.

THE KURDISH PROBLEM AS A LEGACY OF THE VERSAILLES SYSTEM OF THE WORLD ORDER

The article analyzes the roots and origins of the Kurdish problem. The author puts forward the thesis that the unresolved Kurdish issue is closely related to the unfair redistribution of the borders of the Ottoman Empire by the victorious countries after the First World War. The Treaty of Sevres in 1920 and the subsequent Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, in fact, divided the borders of three new states of ethnic Kurdistan. Thus, the Kurds were deprived of the opportunity to create their own national state and found themselves in the position of oppressed minorities in Turkey, Iraq and Syria, as well as in Shah Iran. Having received a League of Nations mandate to govern Iraq and Syria, Great Britain and France cared least of all about the rights and freedoms of the Kurds. The so-called neo-colonizers relied in their rule on the comprador bourgeoisie from among the Arab tribal nobility and the military. The national liberation movement of the Kurds was brutally suppressed by local nationalists and the colonial troops supporting them. The problem of self-determination of Kurdish communities in the region is still relevant. At the level of an age-old dream and idea, the Kurds are unlikely to give up broad autonomy, a nation-state or a confederation.

Theatre and Solidarity among the Transnational Alevi Community

The Alevi religious minority makes up the largest religious minority in Turkey, and their history of persecution dates back before the Republic of Turkey. The inception of the Republic of Turkey as a secular nation-state in 1923 was initially promising for the Alevis, but the regime remained implicitly Sunni Muslim. So, the community’s experiences of citizenship and belonging continued to be characterized by precarity as they occupied a category of national abjection. Beginning in the 1960s, the waves of migration from rural areas to urban Turkey and Western Europe gradually transformed the experiences of the Alevi community and they became more visible. With migration, Alevi people’s everyday experiences of oppression and discrimination as well as their need for community-building and solidarity intensified. In Europe, the Alevi diaspora was too often categorized simply as Turkish or Muslim immigrants. Many of them wanted to differentiate themselves from the Sunni Muslim Turkish majority in the diaspora and gain recognition as a distinct group. They organized in their new homelands and established formal and informal networks of transnational solidarity. In the formation and sustenance of these networks and solidarity, theatre has played a crucial role. The plays staged by Alevi community theatres and professional groups in Turkey and its diasporas have focused primarily on the histories of violence and persecution against Alevis. As such, theatre functions as a site for the constitution of public memory and the intergenerational transfer and transformation of trauma and serves the affective politics of community-building and solidarity among the transnational Alevi community. The political economy of these performances is a crucial element of the politics of solidarity, contributing to the sustenance of Alevi cultural producers and their communities.

Weaponizing Language: Linguistic Vectors of Ethnic Oppression

AbstractAs part of a larger project studying language conflict, this paper documents ways in which the oppression of language use on the part of a dominant language/ethnic group is instrumentalized as a tool to inflict gratuitous societal pain and punishment upon nondominant ethnolinguistic groups and their individual members. Our arguments will be illustrated primarily by three contemporary cases: (1) the Uyghur minority in the PRC, (2) the Kurdish minority in Turkey, and (3) the Hungarian minority in Slovakia. This article also seeks to provide an example of ways in which important empirical questions in the political science/international relations literature might be more fully addressed with the help of linguistics, which is a focus of our ongoing language conflict project.

The Construction of Turkey’s Circassians as a Docile Minority

The 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games revived memories related to the Circassians’ forced migration from their Caucasus homeland into the Ottoman Empire after 150 years. In that year, I conducted a considerable oral history project to understand the collective memories of Circassians in Turkey. The main focus of this study is, however, the social construction of the Circassian minority in Turkey. I examine their oral historical narratives related to their immigration, reception and resettlement, and instrumentalization. It is as important to place emphasis on the protected, multiplied and renewed sociocultural values of Circassians as it is to confront the history. I will examine the relationship between their diasporic identity and minority identity as well as their preferences in identity reproduction.

Minorities in Turkey I: Law and Reform

Here I uncover the relationship between the term “Turk” (an ethno-religious term that, in some usages covertly, in some overtly, avers that Turkey is the land of ethnic Turks, and that only Muslims are considered Turk), and the concepts of race and religion. A critical period for the advancement of human rights and minority rights in Turkey occurred in the early 2000s, when the parliament adopted a series of reform packages in order to harmonize the country’s laws with those of the European Union (EU). I propose to examine a case of these most radical democratic reforms carried out since the establishment of the republic, in order to understand how these reforms have been put into practice. I also trace the deviation from these reforms after 2005, by examining the subsequent laws and practices that undo or undermine them, and discuss their implications, particularly for Kurds in case of the deterioration under the state of emergency (Olağanüstü Hal, or OHAL), declared in response to the July 15, 2016 coup attempt.

Minorities in Turkey II: Ideology and Discrimination

This article focuses on the ideological roots of the repressive and discriminatory mentality/philosophy that has shaped democracy and minority policies in Turkey. My aim is to analyze the consequences of this mentality, with an emphasis on hate speech and discrimination. To this end, I summarize the consequences of the issues and policies discussed in the previous article, and discuss their future implications for both the state and the people of Turkey. I conclude that it is necessary to refer to citizens not through the ethno-religious term Turk, and still less as Muslims, but through the thoroughly territorial term Türkiyeli (of Turkey), and to do all that is necessary to ensure such a transformation in mentality.

Life Practices on Social Media of Minority’s Generation Z in Turkey during the COVİD-19 Period

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused and continues to cause uncertainty around the world. It is a traumatic event that psychologically affects all segments of society. However, particularly the young and disadvantaged in a society like minorities, refugees and disabled people may face even harsher problems. The youngest generation to witness this traumatic event is generation Z. Individuals of this generation came to the world in a period when communication technologies have experienced tremendous growth and progress, thus making them carry characteristics which are very different from other generations. Since this generation is still very young, it is challenging to obtain academic data on them. Studies on this generation are just being conducted, and the number of scientific studies in this field is still minimal. However, what stands out in the already existing research is that social media is an integral part of their lives. While there are many studies on social media usage habits and the effects of these during the pandemic, the research done on minorities in society during this period does also not stand out in the literature. Therefore, this study focuses on an even smaller fraction of the already tiny fraction (0,2%) of non-Muslim minorities in Turkey; the Syriac generation Z in Turkey. Using the method of online surveys, this study demonstrated that all of the surveyed members of the Syriac generation Z, in Turkey connect to the internet, use social media and follow COVID-19 related news on social media on a daily basis. The study also revealed that they spend more time on social media than before COVID-19 and frequently communicate with their friends on social media. Furthermore, this study found that during the COVID-19 period, the surveyed members of the Syriac generation Z were more anxious and generally preferred spending time with their hobbies as well as communicating with their friends and families as a method of coping with their concerns. Also, half of the surveyed members stated that social media helped relieve their concerns during this period.

Emergence of Afro-Turks in Turkish Politics

Since the mid-2000s, Turkey’s almost forgotten and invisible Africa-rooted Turkish citizens, the Afro-Turks, have come to the surface. Because of their small number, they have never been conspicuous before. However, since 2003, with Turkey’s opening to Africa policy, they have become much more discernable in the Turkish public sphere with festivals and activities. Ankara has also officially supported their activities financially and technically. This article argues that there is a strong link between their emergence as an ethnic minority in Turkey and Ankara’s assertive Africa policy to deepen relations with the continent. The case of Afro-Turks indicates that when foreign policy inclination is matched with domestic policy, even a tiny minority can become more discernable and visible in the political arena.

Explaining negative descriptions of Armenians in Turkish parliamentary speeches (1960–1980) via group position theory

This paper scrutinizes the role of Turkish politicians’ threat perception on negative descriptions of Armenians between 1960 and 1980. In so doing, it brings together the theoretical insights of group position theory with the scholarship on the perception of non-Muslim minorities in Turkey. Building on a comprehensive, mixed-method content analysis of Turkish parliamentary proceedings, it demonstrates that Turkish politicians are more likely to make negative comments about Armenians while debating about national security and foreign threats than when speaking about other topics. The paper concludes that perceived threats contribute to the negative descriptions of Armenians in Turkish politics.

EU Enlargement, Conditionality, and the Protection of Christian Minorities in Turkey

Turkey has had aspirations to join the European Union (EU) and be part of Europe since 1958. The most recent three EU enlargement rounds in 2004, 2007, and 2013 included most Eastern European countries and kept Turkey aside. Turkey has to comply with numerous enlargement conditionalities imposed by the EU to obtain the status of potential membership eligibility. Among these conditionalities are the Copenhagen criteria, which include but are not limited to the respect of minority rights as an inseparable part of Copenhagen's political criterion. This essay discusses the respect of minority rights in Turkey as a conditionality for its EU accession and focuses on the non-Muslim Christian minorities, namely Armenian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox minorities. The findings of this essay present and demonstrate the persecutions and intolerance these minorities have encountered and still encounter in their everyday life within Turkish society by the current Turkish government and its predecessors. As a result, this essay argues that Turkey does not comply with the 'respect of minority rights' requirement as prescribed by the Copenhagen criteria, a prerequisite for its EU accession. Consequently, Turkey is not eligible for EU accession from the 'respect of minority rights' perspective as it does not fulfill the latter condition.

Alien Citizens: The State and Religious Minorities in Turkey and France. By Ramazan Kilinç

Alien Citizens: The State and Religious Minorities in Turkey and France. <i>By Ramazan Kilinç</i>

Alien Citizens: The State and Religious Minorities in Turkey and France

Alien Citizens: The State and Religious Minorities in Turkey and France

The 1964 Expulsion of Greek Citizens from Turkey: Economic and Demographic Turkification Under Ethnocultural Nationalism

ABSTRACT This article argues that the Turkish government facing the 1964 Cyprus crisis applied the principle of negative reciprocity toward Greece and expelled Greek citizens living in Turkey. By doing so, Turkey aimed at pressuring Greece to bring the Greek Cypriot side to the negotiation table. Although Turkish policy proved to be a failure, the expulsions continued. The deportation resulted in the demise of the Greek minority in Turkey for the following reasons: first, there were intermarriages between the Greek citizens and the Greek minority; and second, Turkey’s Greeks finally lost their hope of being treated as equal Turkish citizens.

Alien Citizens: The State and Religious Minorities in Turkey and France. By Ramazan Kılınç. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019. 264p. $99.99 cloth.

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Lausanne Population Exchange Migration and the Habitation of Turkish Refugees

The exchange of Turkish and Greek population, which became definite upon an agreement signed between Turkey and Greece at the Lausanne Conference, caused crucial consequences. This period, signifying a compulsory removal of people from their homeland, was a main issue for the Turkish Republic. At the end of ten-year process of transforming minorities in Turkey and Greece into immigrants, parties, through exchange, achieved religious identity integrity. However, considering the qualifications and the value of immigrants, it is a reality that Turkey suffered significant losses. Whereas Greeks migrating to Greece from Turkey were a tradesman urban population, Turks migrating from Greece to Turkey were a farmer peasant population. This paper evaluates the exchange period under related literature, the tackling method in the Lausanne Conference and the implementation period. Moreover, the “Habitation of Exchanged Turks” section, constituting the core of subject, examines the preparations of the Turkish Government for the resettlement of refugees and factors affecting the policies. Furthermore, the resettlement of Turkish immigrants was examined under the distribution principle, and the effect of geographical factors, especially climate and surface shapes, on settlement practices is explained. For this purpose, a map showing the distribution of refugees throughout the country was prepared, and the success rate of settlement applications was evaluated.

Analysis of public discourse on religious minorities in Turkey after the coup attempt of 15th July 2016

The aim of this paper is to follow and analyse the public discourse on religious minorities in Turkey after the failed coup d’état of 15th July 2016. However either Turkish state’s policy or social attitudes towards these groups have always been controversial and their real position has always differed from their legal status, the author decided to put a hypothesis that the coup attempt is indeed what has significantly affected the way they are being perceived by mass media in Turkey and hence, by Turkish public opinion. Thus, the purpose of this analysis is to study the chosen media content concerning religious minorities and to answer the question how the post-coup reality affects the situation of persons belonging to these groups. In order to achieve this goal several research methods specific for political science and humanities are applied and Polish, English and Turkish language sources are widely referred in the article.