For most of their histories, Turkey and Iran have had a friendly but competitive relationship in ideological and geopolitical venues. When this competition reached its peak in the 1990s, conventional wisdom foresaw prospects for cooperation between Turkey and Iran would gradually decrease. Instead, bilateral relations began to be enhanced in the early 2000s, which is commonly labeled as rapprochement. This rapprochement spread to the political, economic and security arenas, and has accelerated during AKP (Justice and Development Party) rule in Turkey, especially after the Iraqi War of 2003. However, the rapprochement process in bilateral relations lost its momentum in 2010. This thesis examines the reasons and extent of the rapprochement process in Turkish-Iranian relations in the first decade of 2000s, attempting to answer the following research questions: &bdquo / How can the rapprochement process in bilateral relations be defined?

This thesis examines Iranian-Kurdish filmmaker, Bahman Ghobadi’s authorial strategies and cinematic aesthetics through the theoretical and methodological lens of hybridity. According to Homi Bhabha, hybridity can be understood as a “third space,” in which cultural meanings resist binary either/or logic, and are instead negotiated through a logic that is neither one, nor the other. Thus, Bhabha’s concept of hybridity as a “third space” provides a fruitful framework to analyze Ghobadi’s authorship and cinematic style. By analyzing Ghobadi’s neo-realist treatment of Kurdistan’s cultural and physical landscape and hybrid cinematic aesthetics in his first two features, A Time for Drunken Horses (2000) and Turtles Can Fly (2004), this research calls attention to intercultural processes that generate cultural meaning through indexical and material as opposed to symbolic registers. In addition, this thesis applies Hamid Naficy’s concept of “shifters” to examine how Ghobadi’s hybrid authorial strategies and narrative reflexivity garners international audiences in his two latest features, Half Moon (2006) and No One Knows about Persian Cats (2009). This project also examines how Ghobadi’s use of a digital camera and employment of digital cinematic techniques to capture Iran’s underground rock music culture in No One Knows about Persian Cats, testifies to the authenticity of this cultural space while simultaneously structuring the film as a global vehicle for these Iranian musicians’ performances. Ultimately, Ghobadi’s hybrid authorial strategies and cinematic aesthetics function as a means to enunciate and globally circulate diverse Kurdish and Iranian cultural identities. In doing so, this thesis illuminates hybrid modes of cultural production and hybrid cultural subjectivities that have emerged in the contemporary globalized landscape. / text

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the intersecting dynamics of gender and ethnic identities for Kurdish Migrant women in Turkey. For this aim, it attempts to investigate Kurdish migrant women&#039 / s everyday lives in their private and public domains, which include in-family, out-family social and ecomomic relations. It is expected that Kurdish women&#039 / s gender and ethnic identities will intersect in these domains and will be effective in creating a specific ethnic community

This thesis examines the Kurdish political mobilization in the 1960s through focusing on the case of the Eastern Meetings. These meetings were organized by the Easterners group of the Turkish Workers Party in the various provinces in the autumn 1967 in the East and Southeast Anatolia with the aim of voicing the demands, claims and the grievances of these regions and the Kurdish population. Using the theoretical framework and the analytical tools presented by the social movements and collective action theory, this thesis examines the identity formation and mobilization processes of the Eastern Meetings and situates them within the socio-political context of the 1960s. Through this analysis, the thesis aims to draw a dynamic and relational picture of a particular moment in the history of Kurdish political activism.

This thesis analyses the role of Newroz in the process of mobilization of the Kurds with the claim of separate identity in Turkey. It is claimed that Newroz is utilized as an ideological tool in order to construct/create Kurdish cultural or national unity. This function of Newroz is examined through two theoretical perspectives which are related to each other. On the one hand, Newroz is taken as a myth which has been used in the construction of Kurdish national identity. On the other hand, Newroz is considered as a tool for counter-hegemony against the hegemonic culture to create cultural unity among the Kurds. Through this analysis, a hegemonic process over/through a myth is revealed. It is claimed that the utilization of Newroz in mobilizing the Kurds resulted in a remarkable success, which gave rise to its turning out to be an ideological battlefield between Kurdish and Turkish nationalisms.

This thesis focuses on pro-kurdish activism in Turkey during 2005–2009. It is based on a large number of interviews conducted with activists within the Diyarbakır area. The form of activism that this study seeks to describe is civil and political activism conducted within the legal framework ofTurkey’s judicial system and international law.The purpose of this thesis is to examine what kind of resistance strategies are used by pro-Kurdish political activists in Turkey, focusing on how these strategies are reflected in the language used by the respondents. The main question posed in the thesis is: What resistance strategies are used within the pro-Kurdish movement in Turkey? Two additional questions were also posed in order to make it possible to answer the main question. The first of these is: What external conditions influence pro-Kurdish mobilization in Turkey during the study’s time frame? In order to answer this question a theoretical framework is used that includes theories about ethnopolitical mobilization and political opportunity structures. The second question is: What resistance strategies are reflected in the language used by the pro-Kurdish activists?An important resistance strategy used by the pro-Kurdish activists is to adapt the language used in public communication to the legal and political environment in which they find themselves. They make linguistic choices in order to convey political messages while minimizing the legal consequences of doing so. The resistance strategies reflected in the interviews with the activists also include efforts to build organizations and cooperations at different levels, ranging from the international to the local level. Resistance strategies also include choices regarding what medium and language to use in promoting pro-Kurdish politics.

KURDISH MUNICIPALITIES IN TURKEY (1999-2013) Case Study of Sur Municipality Abstract This Master's thesis focuses on the institutionalization of the Kurdish movement through municipalities in the Kurdish region from the late 90s. The framework is a Kurdish municipality, Sur, in the city of Diyarbakır, where the Kurdish movement is well organized. My argument is by taking part in the legal political system, Kurdish activists accessed resources that allowed them to expand their repertoire of contention and to create a counter-power through institutions. Becoming a institutional power gives Kurdish activists the opportunity to impose thein standards and practices. However, having become a norm-making powers, Kurdish municipalities' pathes cross those of other normalizing powers. Beginning with the study of the Kurdish population and identity in Turkey, this master's thesis analyzes the state-society relations in the Kurdish region of Turkey. Afterwards, in the framework of our case study, the thesis then identifies the change of Kurdish movement through the Sur municipality and the new Kurdish institutions emerging in the Kurdish region. Finally, it studies the process of standardization / normalization of the counterpower. In conclusion, bearing in mind that the municipalities are not the only entity...

This thesis presents a comparative and interdisciplinary investigation into the relationship between politics and the Turkish and Kurdish novels, which are treated not only as artistic constructions but also as socio-cultural and historical artefacts. The primary objective of this investigation is to understand the principle social, political, and historical reasons and root causes behind the close relationship between politics and literatures in Turkey and the principle socio-political and literary ramifications of such strong relationship. Towards this end, the thesis focuses on four main themes: language, love, religion, and history. Besides being the most common novelistic themes in the Turkish and Kurdish literary institutions, these are inherently heavily politicised and ethno-nationalistically charged themes - thus especially suitable for such inquiry. In line with this politico-historical and literary vein, the thesis also discusses some of the main political questions in Turkey, viz., the reasons behind the failure of Turkish democracy, its maladies and the resultant deadlock on some of the most important issues of the modern history of the country such as the Kurdish imbroglio and the conflict of secularisation and Islam. As the discussions on politics of love, language, religion, and history show, profound ideological competitions and antagonisms do not necessarily mean divergent political and literary structures. As such, the strong links between the Turkish and Kurdish literary institutions, as well as the ordeal of the Kurdish question and democratisation in Turkey, is as much caused by rival nationalisms, hostile ideological positions, and the like as by congruity, parallel political visions, and similar power structures. The main argument of the thesis, thus, is that the Kurdish and Turkish literary, political, and intellectual actors could not contribute towards the solution of the persistent political and literary questions in Turkey because of their failure in adopting a transformative politics and developing fully autonomous literatures. The future of the two literatures, as was in the past, this thesis argues, will remain intrinsically bound to the political structures and developments and the future of democracy in Turkey.

This project aimed to explore the lives of people with epilepsy living in the UK and Kurdistan, Northern Iraq, using qualitative and quantitative methods with a particular focus on stigma and quality of life. This study further explored others’ perceptions concerning those with epilepsy, particularly in regards to knowledge and stigma about epilepsy. Participants were all over the age of 18. The UK sample was recruited from personal contacts and Epilepsy Action conferences. The Kurdistan participants were recruited from Neurology clinics and personal contacts. Data collection consisted of snowball and convenience sampling. The first study was a qualitative investigation looking at people with epilepsy, 10 participants from the UK and 10 participants from Kurdistan were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The interview schedule was exploratory and non-intrusive. The transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. From the analysis five main themes were uncovered; they were (1) The Experience of Seizures; (2) Impact of Living with Epilepsy; (3) Adjustment; (4) Coping and; (5) Stigma, each with two sub-themes. The second study was a quantitative study of people with epilepsy which looked at knowledge of epilepsy, seizure severity, perceived illness seriousness, perceived stigma, depression and quality of life. The total number of participants that took part in the second study was 84 participants in the UK group and 88 in the Kurdistan group. Using Hierarchical Multiple Regression, the results showed that depression and stigma, mediated by depression, are main predictors of quality of life amongst people with epilepsy. The third study investigated people without epilepsy which looked at knowledge of epilepsy and stigma regarding people with the condition. There were 116 participants in the UK group and 200 from the Kurdistan group. Using ANCOVA, Multivariate General Linear Model and Linear Regression, the results showed that the UK participants had significantly better knowledge of epilepsy compared to the Kurdistan group; however, although stigma was higher among the Kurdish group, a significant result was not observed.

Why and under what conditions have the Kurds become agents of change in the Middle East in terms of democratization? Why did the Kurds’ role as democratic agents become particularly visible in the 1990s? How does the Kurdish movement’s turn to democratic discourse affect the political systems of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria? What are the implications of the Kurds’ adoption of “democratic discourse” for the transnational aspect of the Kurdish movement? Since the early 1990s, Kurdish national movements in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria have undergone important political and ideological transformations. As a result of the Kurds’ growing role in shaping the debates on human rights and democratization in these four countries, the Kurdish national movement has acquired a dual character: an ethno-cultural struggle for the recognition of Kurdish identity, and a democratization movement that seeks to redefine the concepts of governance and citizenship in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. The process transformation has affected relations between the Kurdish movements and their respective central governments in significant ways. On the basis of face-to-face interviews and archival research conducted in Turkey, Iraq and parts of Europe, the present work challenges the current narrative of Kurdish nationalism, which is predominantly drawn from a statist interpretation of Kurdish nationalist goals, and argues instead that the Kurdish question is no longer a problem of statelessness but a problem of democracy in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. The main contributions of this work are three fold. First, the research unfolds the reasons behind the growing emphasis of the Kurdish movement on the concepts of democracy, human rights, and political participation, which started in the early 1990s. Second, the findings challenge the existing scholarship that explains Kurdish nationalism as a problem of statelessness and shifts the focus to the transformative potentials of the Kurdish national movement in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria through a comparative lens. Third, this work explores the complex transnational coordination and negotiations between the Kurdish movements across borders and explains the regional repercussions of this process.