State and Kurds in Turkey: The Question of Assimilation

by Metin Heper

Overview

The current literature on the Kurds in Turkey is based on the assumption that since the nineteeth century the State has attempted to assimilate the Kurds and that this has been the cause of the intermittent 'troubles' in Turkey. Metin Heper argues that this theory does not stand up to scrutiny given the many centuries of amicable relations between the State and the Kurds. He suggests that a theory of acculturation rather than assimilation better captures the real nature of State-Kurd interaction in Turkey, by not leaving any part of that interaction unaccounted for.

About the Author:
Metin Heper is Professor of Politics and Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences at Bilkent University, Turkey and is a founding member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780230593619
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date:	11/09/2007
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	354 KB

About the Author

METIN HEPER is Professor of Politics and Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences at Bilkent University, Turkey and is a founding and Council member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences. He served as Research Fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Manchester, UK, and Harvard Universities and as Visiting Professor at the University of Connecticut and Brandeis and Princeton Universities. His books include State Tradition in Turkey, Ismet Inönü: The Making of a Turkish Statesman, and the Historical Dictionary of Turkey.

Table of Contents

Introduction Toleration as Acceptance Distant Though Not Rejected Search for a New Identity Nation in the Making Turks' Brothers Times of 'Troubles' Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

'Metin Heper has written a meticulous analysis of the relationship between the Kurds and the Ottoman and Turkish Republican states. His unique perspective offers a great many illuminating insights into this troubled relationship. Those who are interested in the Kurds, in Turkey, and in ethnic politics in the Middle East more generally may benefit enormously from a careful reading of this scholarly work.' - Frank Tachau, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA

'This is an important book by a major scholar of Turkish politics on a central topic - one of broad interest to people in comparative politics, to those interested in ethnicity and ethnic relations, and to specialists of the history and politics of modern Turkey. Professor Heper has given us an original and incisive analysis based on his impressive and detailed research. The State and Kurds in Turkey makes a significant contribution to the growing literature on the politics of ethnic accommodation.' - Sabri Sayari, Professor of Social and Political Studies, Sabanci University, Turkey

'Professor Metin Heper's study of the policies of successive Turkish governments towards their citizens of Kurdish origin conduces to an understanding of the complexity of an evolving relationship which, for all its difficulties, has succeeded in bringing together the great majority of the country's inhabitants in a common allegiance based on a common interest. I would urge interested outsiders to read this pioneering study by a Turkish academic on a subject which - to paraphrase a well-known lyric - has been treated as everyone's business, but the Turk's.' - Andrew Mango, author of Atatürk: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey

'Metin Heper's The State and Kurds in Turkey, a comprehensive treatment of this complex topic, is a significant contribution that is long overdue. It provides both a sound historical background and examines the question within its broader social, political, and cultural context. Wading carefully across a wide variety of original sources, some of which had been grossly neglected in the context of emerging Turkish nationalism and identity since the nineteenth century, Heper succeeds in presenting coherent essay.' - Professor Ahmet O. Evin, Sabanci University and the Istanbul Policy Center, Turkey

'Professor Heper has provided a detailed and fascinating account of the development of an important aspect of modern Turkey, as well as a valuable account of the sort of difficulties that nationalism encounters in trying to build a modern state, especially in the midst of ethnic diversity. It is, in an important sense, part of the common and continuing European story.' - David W. Lovell, The European Legacy

From the Publisher