The plight of Turkey’s minorities: what obstacles and opportunities exist for equal citizenship beyond the Republic’s centennial?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Turkey’s numerous issues with its main minority groups, Kurds, Alevis, Christians, and Jews, continue to disrupt its domestic peace and complicate its foreign relations. In building a nation the founders of the Republic and successive governments have sought to compel minority assimilation with harsh measures such as expulsion, deprivation of property, resettlement, and discrimination, while ignoring anti-minority violence. As a result, most Christians and Jews have emigrated, though Alevis and Kurds more actively continue to demand recognition and equality. To address these issues Turkey might look to other members of the Council of Europe for examples the Republic could adopt to balance minority rights with national loyalty.