1. "Comparative Ethnonationalism: The Laz vs. Kurds".
- Author
-
Sarigil, Zeki
- Subjects
- *
ETHNIC groups , *NATIONALISM , *LAZ , *KURDS - Abstract
Although the Turkish Republic has been struggling with Kurdish ethnonationalism, we do not see ethnonationalist movements among other ethnic groups such as the Laz. Why? Showing the limitations of structural, cultural and agential theoretical frameworks, this study provides a 'historicist perspective' to explain this variance. It is shown that the Laz people experienced an 'existential threat' due to the Russian invasion and occupation of their historical homelands in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These catastrophic events promoted statist and nationalist orientations among the Laz, which reproduced itself over time. The Kurds experienced similar calamities during the same period but the same trigger interacted with some endogenous factors (i.e. tribal divisions and hostilities) and led to a different path. This analysis suggests that certain contingent occurrences might either promote or stifle ethnonationalist tendencies. Therefore, path dependence approach, in particular its ideational version, is also useful in enhancing our grasp of ethnonationalism phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2009