A centripetal formula for Turkey : a multiculturalist proposal for the resolution of the republic’s long-running Kurdish question

Like consociationalism and territorial pluralism, centripetalism is a multiculturalist way of managing ethno-cultural diversity. Many scholars have examined how a consociational or territorial pluralist formula might help Turkey to resolve its long-running Kurdish problem. To date, no one has paid enough attention to the merits of centripetalism by scrutinising whether they might contribute to the solution of the problem. There is a general neglect of centripetal solution in the academic literature on Turkey's Kurdish question. As an interdisciplinary study, this thesis seeks to fill the centripetal research gap in the literature. The thesis argues that neither consociationalism nor territorial pluralism might be the optimal multiculturalist approach that Turkey should embrace in resolving its Kurdish issue. The thesis comes up with an original centripetal formula for the resolution of the issue. The proposed formula is constructed on the following three cornerstones: 1) a parliamentary system which is built on a 560-member legislature elected via an original version of the Alternative Vote Plus electoral system; 2) asymmetric territorial autonomy for each Kurdish-populated province; and 3) cultural autonomy for individual Kurds residing in the Turkish-dominated provinces. According to the thesis, this centripetal formula might enable Turkey to satisfy or begin to satisfy all main Kurdish demands, the fulfilment of which is regarded by almost all segments of Kurdish society as the basic requirement for the solution of the Kurdish problem. The formula might also create a multiculturalist Turkey less likely to witness some problematic political scenarios that would happen should the Republic establish a consociational or territorial pluralist model for the solution of the problem.