Political scientist warns of blurred lines between terror and politics

WISE NEWS PRESS / ANKARA, TÜRKİYE — 14 NOV. 2025

Political scientist Kadriye Şahin warned that attempts to legitimize terrorism through political narratives risk undermining Türkiye’s unitary state structure and shifting the country’s security struggle into the realm of ideological warfare.

Şahin, a scholar specializing in security and terrorism, said the debate surrounding Selahattin Demirtaş has moved beyond a legal case and now represents a broader test of sovereignty, international pressure and the boundaries of democratic legitimacy in Türkiye.

Statements from the expert

Şahin noted that Türkiye has been confronting the PKK since its first coordinated attacks in Eruh and Şemdinli in 1984, stressing that the issue “is not merely a security matter but a direct threat to the country’s unitary structure and national sovereignty.”

According to Şahin, recent years have shifted the battleground:

“Terrorism today is not only executed with weapons but also through political and ideological channels,” she said.

She argued that Demirtaş’s political influence, originating from his early years in the DTP and later within the BDP-HDP line, largely mirrored the PKK’s ideological platform. Şahin recalled the 2014 Kobani incidents, where calls issued by Demirtaş coincided with street violence that left more than 50 people dead.

International rulings and political impact

Addressing the European Court of Human Rights’ 2020 ruling on Demirtaş’s detention, Şahin said the decision is often interpreted without considering Türkiye’s security context.

She stated that post-9/11 U.S. legislation such as the Patriot Act was rarely challenged by European states, yet Türkiye faces “double standards” when taking comparable security precautions.

Şahin added that international calls for Demirtaş’s release represent “political demands disguised as human rights discourse,” arguing that similar advocacy is rarely seen following deadly PKK-linked attacks.

Türkiye’s security paradigm after 2015

Şahin outlined the collapse of the 2013–2015 “resolution process,” the rise of PKK urban structures such as YDG-H and the trench warfare period, calling it “a direct challenge to state authority.”

She said the state responded after 2016 with a “national security–centered counterterrorism doctrine” that integrated the capacities of MİT, the Gendarmerie and the Police. Urban militant networks were largely dismantled in this period, she added.

At the same time, she warned that new fronts emerged through information and perception campaigns:

“Türkiye’s field successes have increasingly been targeted through media, legal and non-governmental channels.”

Background and historical framing

Invoking political theory, Şahin referenced Thomas Hobbes’ argument that security is the foundation of all freedoms, adding that “stateless freedom is chaos.”

She said Demirtaş’s case symbolizes not only a judiciary process but “a stress test of Türkiye’s sovereignty,” echoing Atatürk’s principle that independence is a nation’s core identity.

Şahin also highlighted MİT’s expanded operational reach since 2014, including targeted operations in Iraq and Syria, and said international discourse has shifted the conflict into a “fifth-column strategy,” where perception battles replace military fronts.

What comes next?

Şahin concluded that Türkiye faces new forms of geopolitical pressure in the international arena, where human rights reports often function as tools of influence rather than neutral evaluations.

She emphasized that Türkiye will continue making decisions “in line with its own legal framework and national security priorities,” asserting that democracy cannot serve as a shield for structures tied to terrorism.

She added that the suffering of civilians, soldiers and public officials targeted by terror attacks cannot be overshadowed by political narratives of victimhood.

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