Annals of Japan Association for Middle East Studies
Online ISSN : 2433-1872
Print ISSN : 0913-7858
The Border between Political Inclusion and Exclusion in Turkey ([Special Feature] Political Change and Migration from the Middle East)
An Analysis from the Viewpoint of Civil-Military Relations
Masamichi IWASAKA
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JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2019 Volume 35 Issue 1 Pages 95-118

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Abstract

Turkey, one of the neighboring countries of Syria, has been deeply involved in both conflict and refugee problems. The Justice and Development Party (AKP), which currently runs the government of Turkey, has regarded the Syrian conflict and refugees as extensions of the Kurdish problem in Turkey. Therefore, the government’s policies on these issues reflect its policies toward the Kurdish-based political parties and movements.

Today, the AKP government virtually excludes Kurdish-based political parties and movements. However, at the beginning, the AKP government attempted to include such political parties and movements through “democratic opening” and “solution process” policies. After the Dolmabahçe agreement, announced at the end of February 2015, was abolished by President Erdoğan and the AKP government, they adopted an exclusion policy toward these parties and movements. That being the case, why did Erdoğan and the AKP government abandon the Dolmabahçe agreement? By answering this question, this paper reveals the border between political inclusion and exclusion in Turkey, the factors that influence the crossing of this border, and its relevant background. With this regard, I conclude that a view of the nation by the government and the change in political structure, especially the civil-military relations, constitute the essential background, and obtaining votes for the victory in elections is an important motivation for crossing the border between inclusion and exclusion. Moreover, this conclusion implies that the AKP government opted for a military measure and the exclusion policy on the Syrian conflict and refugees.

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© 2019 Japan Association for Middle East Studies (JAMES)
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