The Internal Displacement of Kurds and Class Structure in Turkey

Abstract This article examines how forced Kurdish displacement in Turkey during the 1990s fundamentally reconfigured the country’s class structure amid neoliberal reform. Drawing on a specially tailored KONDA Barometer Survey dataset, it traces the mass uprooting of Kurdish peasants—through the destruction of over 3,000 villages—and their subsequent migration to urban slums. The study demonstrates that this politically driven displacement not only fueled “informalization” in Turkey’s labor market but also expedited the transformation of Kurds into a key source of inexpensive, informal labor. Employing Portes and Hoffman’s class framework, the statistical analysis uncovers pronounced inequalities in class mobility, with displaced Kurds predominantly channeled into informal, precarious, low-wage positions. The findings further illustrate how ethnicity intersects with neoliberal economic reforms and forced migration to reinforce ethnic disparities in the working class. Overall, the article highlights the strong linkage between displacement, class restructuring, and the enduring ethnic conflict shaping Turkey’s evolving socio-economic landscape.