Ethnicity as a Social Movement. A Comparative Study on the Nusayrian and the Kurdish Ethnic Groups in Turkey

Abstract

In this study, ethnic movements are investigated using a deep interview technique. The focus of the study is the Nusayrians and the Kurds living in Turkey, two significant ethnic groups, which are subject to the similar influences of the nation state although their interaction with official Turkish nationalism has resulted in a different political reaction. Throughout the process of Turkish nation building, while the Kurds have constructed their social movement on ethnic grounds, the Nusayrians have done so on the basis of left-wing policies abandoning any predominant ethnic identity. In both situations, they have readjusted their identities as members of ethnic groups with different ways of political expression.