The Kobani events and contesting political discourses on the Kurdish question in Turkey

Abstract

From October 6-8, 2014, following a call by the pro-Kurdish party to protest against the Turkish government's alleged indifference to the situation in Kobani, protests and violent clashes took place in many provinces of Turkey. In order to contribute to the understanding of the long-running ethnic conflict in Turkey, this paper addresses the contesting political discourses on the Kurdish question by focusing on those events. It comparatively analyzes the selected speeches of the leaders during and immediately after the Kobani events. Applying critical discourse analysis as a conceptual and analytical framework, it concludes that the Kurdish political movement builds its discourse on the ethnic difference and reinforces it with resistance against alleged state pressure and discrimination against the Kurds, while the AK Party's discourse prioritizes a Muslim fellowship and supports it with promises of social and economic progress.