Search Result

Srl

Item

ID: 161468

A.K. Party and the Kurds since 2014: a discourse of terror / Martin, Natalie

Martin, Natalie	Journal Article
	0 Rating(s) & 0 Review(s)

Summary/Abstract

This article will examine A.K.P. (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) discourse surrounding ‘terrorism’ and political violence in Turkey since 2014, concentrating on issues pertaining to the Kurdish question. It explores whether the Turkish government has used its state powers for countering political violence to neuter political opposition in various forms. It analyses the public discourse of the A.K.P. elite to argue that the Turkish government has redefined ‘terrorist’ to mean ‘opponent’. This highlights a discursive strategy of associating perceived threats—the P.Y.D. (Partiya Yekitiya Demokrat), the H.D.P. (Halklarin Demokratik Partisi), Academics for Peace and Amnesty International—with terrorist actors: the P.K.K. (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan) and Islamic State (I.S.). Taking a critical theoretical approach using securitization theory it explores the underlying power structures at play within this scenario to argue additionally that having initially de-securitized the role of I.S. in Turkey the A.K.P. has, since 2015, re-securitized I.S. for its own purposes including the ongoing delegitimization of its opponents. Ultimately, the widening and apparent malleability of the ‘terrorist’ label in Turkey should be seen as both a symptom of the country’s authoritarian drift since 2007 and a means of sustaining it further.

Key Words

Kurds ; A.K. Party ; Discourse of Terror

Links

'Full Text'

In Basket

Export

ID: 183910

Allies and enemies: the Gülen movement and the AKP / Martin, Natalie

Martin, Natalie	Journal Article
	0 Rating(s) & 0 Review(s)

Summary/Abstract

This paper charts how the Gülen movement (GM)’s allegiance and effectiveness has changed over the past two decades. It examines how the GM has moved from being a fellow Islamist actor in Turkish politics to close ally during the first ten years of the AKP government with the joint aim of decreasing the Kemalist hold on the establishment. The paper then examines how the GM has been delegitimised by the AKP since it became more of a risk than an asset amidst disagreements over policy direction. It argues that the GM has transitioned from being a rival to an ally of the AKP in order to facilitate policy; going from a non-state actor pre-2002 to a quasi-state actor during its alliance. The alliance was a mutually beneficial ‘marriage of convenience’ which enabled both parties to consolidate power often through illiberal means. However, since 2013 the AKP-Gülen relationship has deteriorated markedly and the movement is now an enemy of the AKP and a victim of the same authoritarian drift it was previously complicit in.

Key Words

AKP ; Gülen Movement

Links

'Full Text'

In Basket

Export