This paper assesses the applicability of the non-territorial autonomy model as an alternative framework for the accommodation of Kurdish political and cultural demands in Turkey. The dominant conception of national identity and citizenship in Turkey has been challenged over the past 50 years by Kurdish nationalism. In the past 30 years, this challenge took the form of an armed conflict between Turkish Army and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which antagonised the relations between the state and the Kurds. The 2000s witnessed a significant decrease in violence, which also altered the nature of the conflict. However, despite this the Turkish nationalist framing of the ‘Kurdish question’ as strictly a security concern, has maintained its strong appeal among the mainstream political parties in Turkey. With its ‘Democratic Initiative’ in August 2009, the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) started a process aimed at resolving the conflict through peaceful means. However, the public debate that followed has brought to the fore the ideological rigidity of Turkish nationalism and its hesitancy to accept the legitimacy of Kurdish political demands. The positive environment created by the decrease in violence and government’s attempts has since been receding in the past two years leading to an escalation in violence. In contrast to mainstream Turkish political parties, the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) has been campaigning for the institution of an alternative institutional framework based on the non-territorial autonomy model. This paper will argue that the non-territorial autonomy model is likely to be accepted by the mainstream Turkish political parties as the unitary framework of the state will be maintained, and it is suitable for the Kurd’s needs and demands many of whom are dispersed around the whole of Turkey.
