Kurdish Revolutionary Dynamics and the Rise of Opposition Politics in Turkey, 2007-2015

• In Event: 20861 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 12: Rethinking Social Movement Theories

Abstract

Starting in 2007, the AKP positioned itself as a democratic and liberal force, but this claim soon came under scrutiny by wider segments of Turkish society. The lack of a strong, independent opposition became increasingly apparent, creating a pressing need for a political movement capable of challenging Erdoğan’s government effectively. This political gap was filled by the predecessors of the HDP—specifically, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP or Barış ve Demokrasi Partisi; in Kurdish, Partiya Aştî û Demokrasiyê) and the Democratic Society Party (DTP or Demokratik Toplum Partisi; in Kurdish, Partiya Civaka Demokratîk) —which successfully unified diverse social struggles, linking various forms of oppression into a cohesive anti-government opposition. BDP, DTP, and others revitalized the Kurdish question and had impacts on the Turkish left. A new political climate was arriving, but the revolutionary dynamics within the Kurdish population had already been established prior to this period. They were a parallel phenomenon alongside the formation of this broader oppositional coalition. This paper argues that the presence of Kurdish revolutionary dynamics injected an energizing momentum into opposition politics, amplifying the impact of these oppositions beyond their initial expectations. Nobody planned the Gezi Protest. These protests emerged as a spontaneous surge of collective energy due to the existing revolutionary dynamics. This amplified impact, however, did not work in favor of the subjects of these revolutionary dynamics as it translated into an electoral agenda in the long run.

Author

• Busra Ferligul, Binghamton University