Identity Problems in Turkey: Alevis and AKP

As successive Turkish governments have attempted, AKP too is trying to solve the perennial Alevi problem as part of its broader agenda regarding the question of minorities. However, this paper argues that there are two fundamental obstacles facing Turkey's conservatives in reaching a meaningful...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAlternatif politika Vol. 7; no. 3; pp. 620 - 644
Main Authors Üşenmez, Özgür, Duman, Levent
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Istanbul Rasim Ozgur DONMEZ 01.10.2015
Rasim Özgür DÖNMEZ
Alternatif Politika
Subjects
Complaints
Conservatism
Ethnic Minorities Studies
Governance
Identity
Islam
Minority & ethnic groups
Minority groups
Muslims
Ontology
Political Philosophy
Politics and Identity
Politics and religion
Radicalism
Religion
Rituals
Rural areas
Secularism
Siyasal Bilimler
Sunni Muslims
Voters
Ankara
Türkiye
Turkey
Religion
Alevis
Turkey
AKP
Secularism
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Summary:As successive Turkish governments have attempted, AKP too is trying to solve the perennial Alevi problem as part of its broader agenda regarding the question of minorities. However, this paper argues that there are two fundamental obstacles facing Turkey's conservatives in reaching a meaningful solution. First, there is the ontological issue that AKP itself does not represent a radical break with the country's tumultuous past in terms of perception toward Alevis. Secondly, there is the ideological issue that the Sunni majority, who are at the core of AKP's concept of oppressed Muslims, are hardly sympathetic to Alevi rituals or complaints. Decades long effects of Turkish-Islamic synthesis did not bode well for that effort also. So, any recognition of equal status on religious grounds for Alevis would create a backlash for the ruling party among its rural electorate.
ISSN:1309-0593
1309-0593