Eleventh Global Studies Conference

Abstract

This paper develops the concept of (re-)entrenchment of Turkish state policies vis a vis Kurdish mobilizations to show that the peace/resolution process of 2009-2015 did not produce any results intended by any of the parties involved but re-configured the terms of violence from a security-coercive paradigm to a security-fraternity paradigm. A close reading of the minutes of negotiations indicate that with the collapse of this process, the Turkish state’s policy regarding the “Kurdish Question” as a vital security issue (rather than a democratic dialog) was restored, yet a new regime of violence was established, resolutely excluding former allies from new domestic and regional opportunities and at the same time impediments for all the parties involved. The minutes indicate that the crack within the power bloc played a significant role in this regime change which is a shift from a security-oriented coercive regime to a security-oriented yet a regime of seeking fraternity with Kurds based on religion. This study refers to these regimes as (re)-entrenchments; i.e. institutionalized policies and discursive strategies that are seemingly fixed, yet dynamic and fluid due to their transgressive qualities. Given the inadvertent consequences of contentions, agents of social change are (re-)entrenched in positions of their own making, but not necessarily their own choosing.