Dersim 1937-38: Shifts and continuities in the state discourse and reasoning under Kemalism and Erdoğanism

This chapter analyzes the changing accounts of Dersim from 1937 to 1938 in the dominant state discourse as well as subjugated narratives of the oppressed and argues that Erdoğan’s Dersim ‘apology’ instrumentalized the traumatic history of Dersim and the Dersim community not only to disgrace his rival party CHP and to discredit its Dersimli leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, but also to challenge Kemalism and eventually replace it with Erdoğanism. The Erdoğanist regime, however, is similar to its Kemalist predecessor in terms of defining its ‘acceptable citizens’ and labeling those who do not fit into this category as internal threats to be fought against to protect the perpetuity and interests of the ruling cadre.