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Abstract
Labelling the ‘other’ is one of the most relevant aspects in an armed conflict context. Summarising what the opponent is in one single expression is a strong rhetorical tool in any belligerent discourse. The use of the ‘terrorist’ label assumes a particularly powerful role in such a construction. Employing Ole Wæver's layered discursive structure, this article aims to study the discursive practices and political consequences associated with the use of such labels. The political implications of using the ‘terrorist’ label in regards to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkish politics will be analysed as an illustrative case study. The period under analysis extends from April 2007 to January 2008, corresponding to the escalation of a security discourse that led to the (brief) Turkish military incursion in northern Iraq in the winter of 2007–2008. The political exposure and intense usage of the ‘terrorist’ label in this period makes it particularly ripe for understanding the political discursive context that shapes Turkey's policies towards this protracted conflict. The focus on this period also sheds light on the political reasons underlying the intractability of this conflict.
Acknowledgement
I am grateful for the valuable comments of Daniel Pineu, Richard Jackson and the two anonymous referees.
Notes
1. Based on Edward Azar's definition of protracted social conflict, I define ‘armed conflict’ as a hostile interaction, with fluctuation in intensity and frequency, going from intermittent periods of violence to open warfare (Azar et al. Citation1978, p. 50).
2. Labelling and the discursive construction of labels are thoroughly studied in the field of sociology, particularly in criminology (see Becker Citation1963). They are less so in the field of international relations, where the ‘language turn’ is still relatively recent (see Milliken Citation1999).
3. Here defined as a set of ‘elements considered to be constitutive of liberal democratic politics, including executive answerability, legislative scrutiny, a public sphere of discourse and interaction, equal citizenship under the law and […] political legitimacy based on free and equal communicative practices underpinning social solidarity’ (Jabri 2006a, p. 49).
4. According to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program, there were an estimated number of 458 casualties (for both sides) in 2007, and 501 in 2008, which is more than double when compared with 2006 (210). Years 2007 and 2008 together had almost as many casualties (959) as the whole period between 2000 and 2006 in which there were a total of 1082 (UCDP 2010).
5. Contrary to Neophytos Loizides’ use of language within the context of elite framing, in which there is a manipulation in the construction of framing discourses (2008, p. 281), this article follows a constructivist (see Jabri Citation1996, Klotz and Lynch Citation2007) approach in which discourse is intersubjectively constructed between agents.
6. As pointed out by Alper Kaliber and Nathalie Tocci (Citation2010), other civil society actors have traditionally had, either voluntarily or involuntarily, a limited role to play in Turkey's political discourse regarding highly sensitive issues such as this one.
7. Even though the role of newspapers in English- in non-English-speaking countries is a fascinating topic, particularly for the use of discourse analysis in countries about which the researcher does not have a good command of the native language, this article does not attempt to deal with this issue and takes the information obtained from these sources as reliable translations of the original source.
8. The expression ‘being accused’ is used in this context, as the PKK has rarely acknowledged any of these attacks.
9. It is unclear how many troops were involved in the mission. Early reports from Turkish National Television mentioned 10,000 troops involved, whereas both the US and Iraqi Kurdish officials reported the involvement of just a few hundred soldiers (BBC News Citation2008b).
10. As highlighted by Neophytos Loizides, there is a ‘strong party discipline characterizing the Turkish political culture’ (2008, p. 283), which makes statements such as this quite representative of the whole party.
11. In the past, Turkey passed seven amnesty laws, in 1985, 1988, 1990 and 2000. Accordingly, 1900 people benefited from this law, with only 2 people being reported as having re-joined the PKK (Today's Zaman Citation2007d).
12. Turkey's Constitutional Court eventually closed down DTP in December 2009.