Humbling Turkishness: Undoing the Strategies of Exclusion and Inclusion of Turkish Modernity

Kurds make up about a fifth of T urkey's population. T urkey has taken steps – albeit slowly and reluctantly – towards increased recognition of K urdish cultural and linguistic rights. However, within T urkey there is also a steeply rising tide of T urkish nationalism, prejudice and intolerance towards K urds, and increasing anti‐ K urdish sentiment. This article brings studies of K urdishness and T urkishness into a single conversation and traces the relationship between T urkish modernity, O rientalized K urdishness and the construction of T urkishness as the efendi (master) identity. It does this by drawing attention to “strategies of exclusion and inclusion” in the construction of official T urkish history, and relates these to the way in which the tense borders between K urds and T urks are maintained and currently reproduced. It also presents a normative argument in favour of “humbling T urkishness” and “solidarity trading zones”.