Incoherent State: The Controversy over Kurdish Naming in Turkey

Abstract

This article analyzes contention over Kurdish naming in Turkey. It explores why there has been increased contention over naming between Kurdish activists and Turkish state authorities since the 1980s. First, it underlines the incoherent state responses to the issue of Kurdish naming and calls attention to the role of the local state officials in the escalation of naming controversy. In particular, the paper analyzes the dissonance between the rulings of the Court of Cassation [Yargıtay] and the local state actors’ decisions and behavior. Second, it discusses the increasing Kurdification campaign of Kurdish activism and its role in exacerbating contention over naming.