Title: Blood, beliefs and ballots : the management of Kurdish nationalism in Turkey, 2007-2009 /
Authors: Olson, Robert W.
Publisher: Mazda Publishers,
Year: 2009
Subjects: Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê.; Demokratik Toplum Partisi.; Ergenekon (Organization); Kurds Turkey Politics and government; Kurds Turkey Government relations.; Nationalism Turkey; Nationalism Kurdistan.; Turkey Politics and government
Abstract: "This book analyzes and describes the instruments used by the Turkish state to manage Kurdish nationalism during 2007 to 2009 and the response of Kurds and the PKK and DTP to this state management which included the armed forces, conspiratorial organizations such as Ergenekon, a right-wing conglomeration of active and retired military officers, journalists, academics and organized crime types; the judiciary, media, Kurdish informants and the largesse of the state. Part of the state's management of Kurdish nationalist movements within Turkey also impelled Ankara to better relations with Iran, Syria and Iraq. Improving relations with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq became especially important for Turkey in 2008 and 2009. This essay concludes with the 29 March 2009 elections and an analysis of how successful the instruments of Turkey's management of Kurdish national movements were during the period under analysis and what this bodes for the future of relations between Kurds and Turks in Turkey, Turkey and Iraq, Turkey and the KRG, and the impact of these relations on the politics of the wider Middle East." --Book Jacket.
Contents: The aftermath of the 22 July 2009 election : economic development versus language rights -- The closure cases against the AKP and DTP : Ergenekon and mother tongue education -- Islamists versus Kurdish nationalism -- Renewed intensified armed conflict -- Differences among Kurdish nationalist movements and increased campaign rhetoric -- The "war of words" takes center stage -- Into 2009 : Ergenekon atrocities and the election -- The Davos dèmarche and its aftermath -- The campaign heats up and spreads to the Kurdistan regional government -- Into the home stretch -- Week to go.