Demographics: Erdoğan, the Kurds and Turkey's Future Survival

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Turkey, has received widespread international criticism for his government's treatment of Turkey's Kurdish ethnic minority. Recently Erdoğan has opposed Sweden and Finland joining NATO, claiming that they are "harboring terrorist organizations", a reference to alleged members of the PKK, or Kurdistan Workers' Party. As Turkey's demographics shift, what will the potentially changing role of Turkey's Kurdish citizens mean for the country's political future?

Ambassador Michael Gfoeller shares his perspective on Turkey's demographics, arguing, "How does this massive increase in the Kurdish population over the next generation square with Mr. Erdoğan's dream of creating a an Islamist Republican in Turkey? It is not going to work out very well. Within a generation, Turkey will be pretty much evenly divided between largely secular Kurds and a Turkish population, which is probably 50%, secular and 50% religious in orientation. And so it's going to be a deeply divided society in which half the population will not speak Turkish as its native language. So will Turkey survive in its current form, either politically or geographically? I don't know. But it'll if it does survive, it'll be undergoing massive internal political stresses. And the only way to deal with those political stresses will be to grant absolutely equal status, the Kurdish population, which means it won't be a Turkish Republic anymore. It'll be a Turkish Kurdish Republic. And this is inevitable because of demographic trends."

This interview was recorded in 2021.

[danarj]

what happened to greek before centuries when turk settled anatolia may be happen to turk and they will gradually replace by kurds

[iroglxd]

Kurds are more religious than Turks (More accurately, in percentage wise to their total population, there are more religious K than Turks), don't just look at the political support part, it's only because of the Kurdish rights movement.
Why blame Erdo govt on treatment of K, they got more rights under him than any other so called "secular rulers". Also it was the secular turkish elites which made this mess to begin, they wanted to create a "turkish" identity to a secular turkish state, they classifyied K as mountain Turks in the 80s - in earlier ottoman empire that wasn't a big problem as there was a religious identity to link each other as brothers.

[iroglxd]

Also who is making those babies, it is a well known fact that conservatives are more interested in it and conservatives are more religious.

[mrmalfurion]

Kurds are not largely secular. Maybe kurds in the western turkey is since turks in western turkey is also largely secular. But kurds in east are one of the most religious group in turkey except alewite kurds. They are leftist because right wing in turkey nationalistic which makes them againts kurds. So kurds vote for leftist parties but their way of life can be pretty islamic

[alexkat]

Where did he get this 50% number from?? It's absolutely false

[primordial]

Most of the Kurds in Turkey are not religious, this is a false information. Compared to the past, especially Kurdish nationalist Kurds are based on Zoroastrianism.

[nomorenews]

Who are more racist and xenophobic from these 2 groups?

[enuma]

Within few generations people will get over their differences in Turkey .There are a very big differences between the way kurdish people live in turkey and other kurds in syria and iran . Also there are lots of cross marriages between turks and kurds... This is not a black and white issue . This is a shades of grey...You westerners should expand your colour spectrum... Regards from Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus