ABSTRACT
This chapter examines historical background of the Kurdish question and pinpoints the patterns of how the Turkish state dealt with the Kurds starting with the inception of the Republic in 1923. In addition, I pay particular attention to the AKP period in order to understand whether the AKP’s attempt to solve the Kurdish question by non-military means constitutes a deviation or not. This chapter ends with the argument that the AKP government conceptualized the long-lasting conflict with the PKK as a civil conflict rather than a struggle against terrorism. Nevertheless, it is argued that this is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the “peace process” to be named as a deviation.
