The Social Policy of the AKP toward the Kurds: Healthcare Provision in Hakkari (2003-2014)

The AKP's Kurdish policy from 2003 to 2014 aimed to end social and cultural exclusion, but failed to establish Turkish hegemony and suppress the Kurdish national movement. This book examines the persistence of patient dissatisfaction in Hakkâri, a small Kurdish province, despite improvements in healthcare provision. It suggests that the limit of the AKP strategy was reached in an attempt to carry out a politics of redistribution that tried to convince Hakkârians to be content with a situation that fell short of full respect to their identity and bodies.

Format: Hardback
Length: 324 pages
Publication date: 25 May 2023
Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing Inc

This comprehensive research delves into a pivotal period in the history of the Turkish Republic, spanning from 2003 to 2014, marked by a significant and radical shift in the official stance towards Kurds. The overall Kurdish policy of the ruling AKP (Justice and Development Party) during this timeframe was intricately linked to a broader agenda of reimagining the nation on the foundations of anti-Kemalist, anti-elitist, and fundamentally pro-Muslim principles. This reconstruction of the nation aimed to address the varying levels of social and cultural exclusion experienced by religious masses, Kurds, informal employees, and poorly educated rural masses, who were categorized as subaltern groups within the Republic. However, it is important to note that this policy did not yield the desired outcomes. Despite the AKP's efforts to establish Turkish hegemony over Kurds and suppress the Kurdish national movement, it was unsuccessful in achieving these goals.

In order to explore the reasons behind the failure of the Kurdish policy of the AKP, this book takes a closer look at the limitations of its social policy in creating a compliant, cooperative, and submissive Kurdish subjectivity. By focusing on the persistence of patient dissatisfaction in Hakkâri, a small Kurdish province, during this period, despite significant improvements in healthcare provision, the study seeks to unravel the underlying ethnopolitical resistance that hindered the AKP's efforts to integrate Kurds into the Turkish nation-building project.

The empirical findings of this research reveal that the persistence of patient dissatisfaction in Hakkâri as a mass phenomenon was, in essence, a daily manifestation of an unwavering ethnopolitical resistance to being interpellated by the AKP as citizens-in-the-making who would compare the past and present, recognize progress, and thus appreciate the current quality of healthcare provision. This resistance was driven by a desire to maintain cultural and social identities.

In short, the limit of the AKP strategy was reached in its attempt to carry out a sort of politics of redistribution that aimed to convince Hakkârians to be content with their relative material comfort. The AKP's efforts to promote a cooperative and submissive Kurdish subjectivity were met with resistance, as Kurds sought to assert their distinct identity and preserve their cultural heritage. The failure of the Kurdish policy of the AKP highlights the complex and multifaceted nature of the conflict between the state and minority groups in Turkey, and the need for a more inclusive and equitable approach to nation-building that recognizes and respects the diverse identities and aspirations of all communities.

Weight: 568g
Dimension: 225 x 150 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781433195761
Edition number: New ed