Turkey Archives - IMPACT-se https://impact-se.org/region/turkey/ Worldwide News | Negative Influences | Tolerance Mon, 02 Nov 2026 09:15:17 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 https://impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/cropped-logo-IMPACT_SE-1-32x32.png Turkey Archives - IMPACT-se https://impact-se.org/region/turkey/ 32 32 The Erdogan Revolution in the Turkish Curriculum Textbooks https://impact-se.org/publication/the-erdogan-revolution-in-the-turkish-curriculum-textbooks/ Fri, 20 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://impact-se.org/publication/the-erdogan-revolution-in-the-turkish-curriculum-textbooks/ Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made significant changes to Turkey’s state-approved school textbooks since taking power in 2003. This report is the fourth undertaken by IMPACT-se into the Turkish curriculum. We have identified a marked deterioration in Turkish textbooks since our last review in 2016, in regards to meeting UNESCO defined standards of peace […]

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]]> Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made significant changes to Turkey’s state-approved school textbooks since taking power in 2003. This report is the fourth undertaken by IMPACT-se into the Turkish curriculum. We have identified a marked deterioration in Turkish textbooks since our last review in 2016, in regards to meeting UNESCO defined standards of peace and tolerance. On the contrary, textbooks have been weaponized in Erdogan’s efforts to Islamize Turkish society and to hark back to a nostalgic age of Turkish domination. The Islamization of the curriculum is a direct attempt to shape future generations to fit in with his grand narrative of an Islamic/pan-Turkish revival.

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]]> Kurdish Education in Turkey: A Joint Responsibility https://impact-se.org/publication/kurdish-education-in-turkey-a-joint-responsibility/ Thu, 13 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://impact-se.org/publication/kurdish-education-in-turkey-a-joint-responsibility/ Turkish elites often see Kurds as posing a mortal threat to their homeland’s territorial integrity. Kurdish elites often harbor pan-Kurdish dreams of their own. The rise to power of Erdogan’s Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2002 appeared to imply a watershed, bringing about a measure of cultural liberalization toward the Kurds. More Islam […]

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]]> Turkish elites often see Kurds as posing a mortal threat to their homeland’s territorial integrity. Kurdish elites often harbor pan-Kurdish dreams of their own. The rise to power of Erdogan’s Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2002 appeared to imply a watershed, bringing about a measure of cultural liberalization toward the Kurds. More Islam seemed at first to signal less nationalistic chauvinism. IMPACT-se, a think tank focusing on peace and tolerance in school education, pointed out that the AKP government introduced liberal elements to the Turkish curriculum. These “included the introduction of a Kurdish language elective program, the teaching of evolution, expressions of cultural openness, and displays of tolerance toward minorities. … a slight improvement over past textbooks in recognizing the Kurds, but they are still generally ignored.” [Yet] the name “Kurd” is no longer obliterated from the curriculum. Kurdish-language textbooks were authored as part of a wider Turkish-Kurdish rapprochement. … But this is not enough. A Turkish-Kurdish common vision should be developed. Educationally, a serious effort should be directed toward educating both Turks and Kurds about each other’s identity, culture, shared history, commonalities, conflicts, and interactions… Complete Article HERE

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]]> Two Languages One Country: Turkey’s Elective Kurdish Curriculum https://impact-se.org/publication/two-languages-one-country-turkeys-elective-kurdish-curriculum/ Thu, 20 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000 https://impact-se.org/publication/two-languages-one-country-turkeys-elective-kurdish-curriculum/ The Kurdish textbooks appear at first glance to be simple and straightforward, no more than very little elective training in a minority population’s mother tongue. They are not. Both implicitly and explicitly the books include much material that strengthens conscious Kurdish identity . . . a conversation about this curriculum is worthwhile because the question […]

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]]> The Kurdish textbooks appear at first glance to be simple and straightforward, no more than very little elective training in a minority population’s mother tongue. They are not. Both implicitly and explicitly the books include much material that strengthens conscious Kurdish identity . . . a conversation about this curriculum is worthwhile because the question of Kurdish education in Turkey remains unanswered.

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]]> NEIGHBORS AND RIVALS: CHINA IN TURKEY’S EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM https://impact-se.org/publication/neighbors-and-rivals-china-in-turkeys-educational-system/ Tue, 01 Nov 2016 00:00:00 +0000 https://impact-se.org/publication/neighbors-and-rivals-china-in-turkeys-educational-system/ In July 2015, protesters throughout Turkey burned China’s flag, along with effigies of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong. On the same day, a group of Turkish Ultra-nationalists and Islamists gathered in central Istanbul to protest the alleged restrictions on Uyghur religious freedom in China.

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]]> In July 2015, protesters throughout Turkey burned China’s flag, along with effigies of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong. On the same day, a group of Turkish Ultra-nationalists and Islamists gathered in central Istanbul to protest the alleged restrictions on Uyghur religious freedom in China.

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]]> TURKEY’S CURICULUM UNDER ERDOGAN: THE EVOLUTION OF TURKISH IDENTITY https://impact-se.org/publication/turkeys-curiculum-under-erdogan-the-evolution-of-turkish-identity/ Tue, 25 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0000 https://impact-se.org/publication/turkeys-curiculum-under-erdogan-the-evolution-of-turkish-identity/ This well-timed report monitors Turkish school textbooks published since the AKP’s (Justice and Development Party) rise to power from 2002–15, with special emphasis on recent years (2013–15). The report examined 117 school textbooks covering subjects in the humanities, science, religious instruction and civics.

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]]> This well-timed report monitors Turkish school textbooks published since the AKP’s (Justice and Development Party) rise to power from 2002–15, with special emphasis on recent years (2013–15). The report examined 117 school textbooks covering subjects in the humanities, science, religious instruction and civics.

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