Belonging to the Kurds, identity and nationalism: The case of Batman

This study focuses on the social dynamics that are effective in the development of Kurdish nationalism and the characteristics of Kurdish nationalism itself. Among the factors that are effective in the development of Kurdish nationalism, especially modernization dynamics (migration, urbanization, socio-economic development, nation-state awareness, etc.), political dynamics (Kurdish political parties and terrorist organizations, etc.), wrong governmental policies and practices, the influence of the media that are under control of Kurdish nationalist or organization, the increasing conflicts in the regions in the 1990s and the recent developments in the Middle East have been discussed and tried to be explained. In addition, in the study; the relationship of Kurdish nationalism with terms such as socialism, religion, violence and democracy is also discussed. The research was carried out between 2014 and 2015 in Batman province. In the study, the ethnographic method, which is a qualitative research, was preferred. The purposive sampling method and in-depth interview techniques were used as research techniques. The sample group of the research consists of 50 people, between the ages of 18-60, who defend Kurdish nationalism, and who have different social statuses. A semi-structured interview form was used as the data collection technique from the interviewees. In the study, it has been determined that especially the violations encountered or exposed in the historical process, some modernization dynamics, the PKK terrorist organization, mass media and publications and ethnic-oriented demands have been effective on the development dynamics of Kurdish nationalism. It is understood that the aim of this period is to build a new Kurdish nation on the basis of the ethnical benefits of the Kurds. It can be said that Kurdish nationalism has a separatist character on its ethnic basis and has gained a relatively massive and organized structure today. At the same time, it has been determined that Kurdish political parties and organizations that defend Kurdish nationalism play an important role in the organization and spread of Kurdish nationalism. Besides, it was noted that the Kurdish demands for autonomy and language can be seen as other important factors affecting the development of Kurdish nationalism. It has been observed that the PKK organization, which is assumed to be effective in the formation of the ideological foundations of Kurdish nationalism, has intensely provoked Kurdish nationalism, especially after the 1990s. It has been found that the PKK emphasizes its nationalist discourses instead of its socialist ideology and tries to build a Kurdish nationalism through opposition to the Turkish people and the government. This point reveals that Kurdish nationalism still maintains its violent separatist character today. Based on the interviewers opinions, within the scope of the research, the nature of Kurdish nationalism has been determined to be secular, discriminatory and exclusionary, containing elements of violence, built on hostility, antidemocratic and reactive. In addition, it has been determined that an expression of unjust treatment that has been developed over the negativities experienced in the historical process and a Kurdish nationalism has been built that fed from this discourse of suffering. Here, exaggerated expressions and fictions are also seriously included. In this context, it is observed that the discourse of Kurdish nationalism is based on a memory that may generate intense hatred and hostility. Another important issue identified in the research is that the nature of Kurdish nationalism today is shaped by the PKK organization.