Ethno-regionalist parties beyond Western Europe: Kurdish parties in Turkey


Arslantaş Ş., Arslantaş D.

PARTY POLITICS, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1177/13540688261475512
  • Dergi Adı: PARTY POLITICS
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, Index Islamicus, Political Science Complete, Public Administration Abstracts, Public Affairs Index, Political Science Abstract (IPSA), Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Sociology Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
  • İstanbul Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

While there is an extensive literature on ethno-regionalist parties (ERPs) in Western Europe, Kurdish ERPs in Turkey remain undertheorized. Focusing on party ideology, organizational structure, and electoral strategy, this article advances three findings. First, ideologically, Kurdish ERPs consistently articulate a left-leaning program centered on labor and democratization, while increasingly integrating post-materialist tenets such as feminism and environmentalism. Second, organizationally, they function as movement parties with a highly resilient structure. Third, strategically, they expand beyond their ethnic stronghold through broad leftist alliances and a "Turkification" (T & uuml;rkiyelile & scedil;me) process, becoming pivotal national actors. These findings underscore the need to account for the interaction between ethno-regional mobilization, political-institutional constraints, and party-movement linkages in understanding ERPs in the European periphery.