Nationalism, history and civilization in Öcalan’s thought

ABSTRACT

Using an interpretive-textual method, this study seeks to analyse the major characteristics of Abdullah Öcalan’s narrative of history in terms of the relationship between history and nationalism. Öcalan has been the undisputed leader of the PKK since the founding of the organization in 1978. As the leader who has shaped the policies of the PKK, Öcalan’s narrative of history has functioned as a cognitive map for the organization. Accordingly, this study argues that Öcalan’s narrative of history reflects a strong primordialist tendency. Furthermore, it is argued that history has been a significant component of Öcalan’s political thought.

KEYWORDS:

• Kurdish nationalism
• the PKK
• abdullah Öcalan
• history
• civilization

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Following Özkırımlı’s approach, this study will employ the term primordialism as ‘an umbrella term used to describe the belief that nationality is a “natural” part of human beings, as natural as speech, sight or smell, and that nations have existed from time immemorial’ (Özkırımlı, 2010, p. 49). Although some scholars tend to distinguish primordialism that emphasizes ‘the naturalness of nations’ from perennialism that refers to ‘the antiquity of nations’ (Özkırımlı, 2010, pp. 50, 58), the study will also rest on the assumption that there is no sharp line between primordialist and perennialist approaches. For this debate, see also Smith (2003, 2010), Ichijo and Uzelac (2005), Spencer and Wollman (2003) and Cox (2021).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

H. Bahadır Türk

H. Bahadır TÜRK works as a Professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University in Ankara, Turkey. His research interests focus on Turkish political life, political theory and masculinity studies. He is the author of the books Şirket ve Parti: Genç Parti ve Yeni Siyaset (The Party and The Firm: The Young Party and New Politics. Istanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2008) and Muktedir: Türk Sağ Geleneği ve Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (The Powerful: Turkish Right-Wing Tradition and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Istanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2014). His articles appear in journals such as Turkish Studies, International Area Studies Review, Critical Studies on Terrorism, Contemporary Review of the Middle East and Parliaments, Estates and Representation.