Ethnic Parties in Turkish Political Life and Its Impact on Foreign Policy

Since 1990, the parties that have been described as Kurdish or Pro-Kurdish political parties have participated in the elections. The political presence of these parties has always been interpreted through their relations with the illegal terrorist organization PKK, which has been decisive in their relations with both the executive and the judiciary. Decisively, as a part of the political sphere, the impact of these parties' actions and their relations with governments from the 1990s to the present day on Turkish Foreign Policy is a matter that needs to be addressed. Firstly, this article tackles with the concept of ethnic party and its possible applicability for the cases of "Party of the Kurds" in Turkey. Although there is a prosperous literature on the definition of the ethnic party, this study is based on the assumption that the election performance of the parties is an important determinant. Secondly, the effects of these developments on Turkish Foreign Policy, especially on the relationship with European Union will be analyzed. Even today, Kurdish Question is still continuing due to the external and internal factors in the region. Therefore, the analysis of political developments in the 1990’s from the party politics perspective, is expected to make a significant contribution to the literature of this Question for the prospective studies.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Ethnic party, Turkish Political Life, Turkish Foreign Policy

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