KURDISH SEPARATISM, POLITICAL ELITES' POSITIONS, AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION IN TURKEY.

This paper argues that without making a substantial progress in solving the Kurdish question, Turkey will not be able to become a full-fledged democracy. Consequently, this paper tries to answer the question, what the major disagreement points among the political elites are over the Kurdish-issue and how these disagreements impact the democratic consolidation in Turkey. The main obstacle to the resolution of the Kurdish problem is the Turkish elites' short-sightedness, historical fears, partisanship-concerns as well as the DNA's of the mainstream political parties in Turkey. These factors foster disagreements among the political elites over one of the most crucial issues, the Kurdish question, which poses an existential threat to the integrity of the Turkish state. The paper utilizes the most recent public opinion polls to discuss the stands of the relevant political parties as well as the larger society toward various issues related to the Kurdish question and its potential political implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]