A paradox of ethnic politics? Minority language recognition and political trust in an authoritarian setting

Does a state's increased use of a minority language affect the political attitudes of minorities using that language? To explore the impact of minority language recognition on minority individuals’ political attitudes, we conducted an online survey experiment in Turkey, recruiting citizens of Kurdish origin. Our results point to a recognition paradox. While Kurdish people in Turkey become more satisfied with state services when these services are provided in the Kurdish language, this satisfaction does not increase trust in state institutions. On the other hand, the recognition of the minority language further increases demands for policies regarding that ethnic language.