The Republican People’s Party’s Approach to the Kurdish Question: A Comparison of Deniz Baykal and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu Periods

This study focuses on the Kurdish question that has occupied the political and social agenda of Türkiye for a long time. It also closely examines the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) approach to the issue. This study analyzes and compares the approaches of two former chairmen of the CHP, the late Deniz Baykal and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, to the Kurdish question. The study focuses on the approaches of the two leaders to nationalism, ethnic identity, and identity politics while it tries to capture the continuity and change in the CHP’s attitude toward the Kurdish question. The study uses comparison and discourse analysis methods and concentrates on party programs, election manifestos, and the leader’s speeches. The concern of protecting the regime seemed to determine the CHP’s approach to the Kurdish question during the Baykal period, but the socio-economic problems of the Kurds defined the party’s approach as it partially moved away from nationalist policies in the Kılıçdaroğlu period.