The ‘Unknown’ and ‘Frightening’ Butterfly: The Reversal of Turkey’s Kurdish Language Policy

Abstract

In the early 2000s, the AKP government in Turkey adopted an unprecedentedly liberal approach to use of the Kurdish language. In the post-2015 Turkey, however, restrictions on the Kurdish language have been on the rise, and this change is echoing the repressive language policies of the previous Turkish governments. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the causes and effects of the recent reversal of Turkey’s Kurdish language policy. The AKP government defines the recent coup attempt and the resurgence of violent armed conflict as a justification for the policy change, but this thesis shows that these factors are not sufficient to explain the reversal. This thesis argues that the causes of the recent reversal are the perpetuation of the perception of language in a framework of security, enhanced by the recent resurgence of violent armed conflict, the government’s loss of interest in the European Union membership and the AKP’s revised electoral strategy. This thesis seeks to better understand the relationship between language policy and conflict, and finds that restrictions on the Kurdish language radicalizes the Kurdish movement and exacerbates the armed conflict. Other effects of this reversal have been the falling electoral support for the AKP government, the opposition parties’ rising interest in the “Kurdish issue” and the suspension of the membership negotiation process by the EU. This thesis makes several recommendations as to how Turkey’s language policy can be improved, emphasizing the necessity of adopting a diversity-preserving language policy model and removal of restrictions on the Kurdish language.