The Ak Party’s Kurdish policy

Abstract

This study discusses the AK Party’s Kurdish policy from the November 2002 General Elections to-date. As one of the key issues, or rather the number one issue in Turkey; the Kurdish question may be examined along four different dimensions: economic, socio-cultural, security, and political (participation). The policies that have been developed in these particular areas by the AK Party governments since 2002 and the impact of these policies on Kurdish citizens of Turkey and on various Kurdish political and social organizations have varied sporadically during the AK Party’s 15-year tenure. In times when political participation or security aspects have become more important, other aspects remained on and off the agenda. While these four areas are interrelated, examining them separately will make it easier to understand the implications of the policies developed by the AK Party to solve the Kurdish problem...