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Identity, Interest, and Politics

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Identity, Interest, and Politics INTERNATIONAL MAX PLANCK RESEARCH SCHOOL on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy Köln, Germany Azer Kiliç Identity, Interest, and Politics The Rise of Kurdish Associational Activism and the Contestation of the State in Turkey Studies on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy Azer Kiliç Identity, Interest, and Politics The Rise of Kurdish Associational Activism and the Contestation of the State in Turkey © Azer Kiliç, 2013 Published by IMPRS-SPCE International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy, Cologne http://imprs.mpifg.de ISBN: 978-3-946416-03-6 DOI: 10.17617/2.1857884 Studies on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy are published online on http://imprs.mpifg.de. Go to Dissertation Series. Studies on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy Abstract This dissertation investigates associational behaviour in a context of eth- nic conflict and contestation of the state. With a case study of the Kurd- ish issue in Turkey, it examines the position of interest associations in the major Kurdish province of Diyarbakır in relation to political struggles be- tween different models of social integration by exploring the relative weight of economic interests and collective identity politics in influencing associational strategies. This examination draws on the theoretical litera- ture on interest associations and their impact on social order and democ- racy. In particular, the analysis adopts the framework of Streeck and Schmitter to understand the logic of associational action by looking at the environments of membership and influence. The analysis, however, modifies this framework by emphasizing the duality seen within both en- vironments, as well as the transitional context that the contestation of the state and socio-economic changes contribute to. The empirical analy- sis focuses on a selection of interest associations with either de jure or de facto compulsory membership (Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Bar and Medical Associations; and labor unions in the municipal sector). It provides an in-depth analysis of strategies of each association in relation to its membership and its interlocutors, as well as a broader analysis of organized interests in relation to other ‘partial regimes,’ that is, institu- tionalized sites for the political representation of social groups such as political parties and social movements that represent diverse ‘interests’ and ‘passions’ reflecting the cleavages in society. The dissertation relies on archival research and four-months of fieldwork, focusing on the last decade for the examination of associational politics. About the author Azer Kiliç was a doctoral researcher at the IMPRS-SPCE from 2009 to 2013. Studies on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy Identity, Interest, and Politics: The Rise of Kurdish Associational Activism and the Contestation of the State in Turkey Inauguraldissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität zu Köln 2013 vorgelegt von Azer Kilic aus Istanbul (Türkei) © 2013 Azer Kilic Referent: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Wolfgang Streeck Korreferent: Prof. Dr. Ayşe Buğra Tag der Promotion: 15 Juli 2013 ii Contents Tables and Figures ……………………………………………………………… .................... v Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………. .................... vi Dedication…………………………………………………………………………….. ......... viii Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Studying Associational Politics ........................................................................................ 4 1.2 Methodology ................................................................................................................... 16 1.3 Organization of the Dissertation ..................................................................................... 19 PART I: COEVOLUTION OF THREE PARTIAL REGIMES: SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, POLITICAL PARTIES, AND ORGANIZED INTERESTS ................................................... 23 Chapter 2: The Kurdish Movement .......................................................................................... 24 2.1 Emergence of the PKK and the Intermittent Armed Conflict ........................................ 24 2.2 Enter Pro-Kurdish Political Parties ................................................................................. 33 2.3 The Situation of Dual Power .......................................................................................... 45 Chapter 3: The AKP Goverment .............................................................................................. 53 3.1 Roots in Political Islam ................................................................................................... 53 3.2 Three Terms in Power: Opportunities, Reforms, and Challenges .................................. 58 3.3 Approach to the Kurdish Issue ....................................................................................... 71 Chapter 4: Organized Interests ................................................................................................. 83 4.1 Historical Origins and Contemporary Legal Setting ...................................................... 83 4.2 Diverse Paths to Politicization ........................................................................................ 92 4.3 Associational Politics in the AKP Period ....................................................................... 99 PART II: DIYARBAKIR’S ASSOCIATIONAL ENVIRONMENT AT THE INTERSECTION OF THE LOCAL AND THE NATIONAL .............................................. 114 Chapter 5: Business Associations .......................................................................................... 115 5.1 Associational Leadership and Properties ...................................................................... 115 5.2 Dynamics in the Membership Environment ................................................................. 124 5.3 Contemporary Political Activism ................................................................................. 132 Chapter 6: Professional Associations ..................................................................................... 144 iii 6.1 Associational Leadership and Properties ...................................................................... 144 6.2 Dynamics in the Membership Environment ................................................................. 152 6.3 Contemporary Political Activism ................................................................................. 159 Chapter 7: Labor Unions ........................................................................................................ 171 7.1 Unionism in the Municipality Sector ............................................................................ 171 7.2 Dynamics in the Membership Environment ................................................................. 180 7.3 Contemporary Political Activism ................................................................................. 183 Chapter 8: Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 192 8.1 Contestation of the State and the Rise of Kurdish Associations .................................. 193 8.2 Associational Role in Formation of Social Divisions and Coalitions .......................... 200 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………….... ....... 207 iv Tables and Figures Tables 2.1 Population in Diyarbakır 34 2.2 Parties rooted in political Islam and Diyarbakır in general elections 35 2.3 Pro-Kurdish parties in general elections 36 2.4 Pro-Kurdish Parties and Diyarbakır in general elections 37 2.5 Local elections in Diyarbakır 38 2.6 Pro-Kurdish parties and the AKP in general elections 41 2.7 Poverty in Diyarbakır 49 3.1 General elections and parties linked to the National Outlook 55 3.2 Parties in the parliament since 2002 59 3.3 The macroeconomic performance, 2001-2010 64 3.4 Poverty rates 66 3.5 Constitutional referendum results, 2010 69 4.1 Major peak associations 91 4.2 Selected interest associations in Diyarbakır 111 Figures 5.1 Export activities of Diyarbakır in the 2000s 127 v Acknowledgments I started doing my PhD at the Boğaziçi University’s Ataturk Institute in 2006 and transferred to the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies (MPIfG) in 2009 to pursue another PhD, two independent pursuits which were later to be combined by a co-tutelle agreement. Hence, it’s been a long time spent in several countries; I hope I won’t forget anyone. First of all, I am deeply grateful to my advisors and members of the committee for their guidance in the process of formulating the topic, conducting research and writing the dissertation: particularly, Ayşe Buğra, Wolfgang Streeck and Martin van Bruinessen. Duygu Köksal and Berna Yazıcı also kindly took part in my committee meetings in Istanbul; and Martin Höpner, Andre Kaiser and Armin Schaefer kindly acted as other members of the defense jury in Cologne. I benefited from discussions I had with Karen Barkey during my research stay at the Columbia University in NYC and with Güven Sak and Şemsa Özar during my fieldwork in Turkey. Thanks go also to the librarians and other staff of the MPIfG, Boğaziçi University, Columbia University, as well as of the Paris Kurdish Institute. I carried out the dissertation research under the
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