Orientation of the Kurds towards the European Union: low level of knowledge, high level of idealist expectations/Kurtlerin Avrupa Birligi'ne yonelimi: dusuk bilgi duzeyi, yuksek idealist beklentiler

The Kurdish problem has not only been one of Turkey's most important and long-standing problems, but also always ranked among top agenda items in relation to the EU accession process. Consequently, the stance and opinions of the Kurds on matters pertaining to the Union are of critical importance. The present paper aims to analyze Kurdish orientations to the EU based on two main modes of orientation described in the literature, level of awareness (interest and information), and subjective assessments, on the basis of a field study conducted among university graduate Kurds. Keywords: Kurds, European Union, Orientation to the EU, EU-Turkey Relations Kurt sorunu sadece uzun zamandir Turkiye'nin en onemli sorunlarindan biri olmakla kalmamis ayni zamanda AB uyelik sureci bakimindan da her zaman en onemli gundem maddelerinin basinda yer almistir. Bu acidan, Kurtlerin AB ile ilgili meselelerde durduklari yer ve sahip olduklari gorusler kritik degere sahiptir. Elinizdeki calismada, universite mezunu Kurtler arasinda gerceklestirilen bir alan calismasindan hareketle; literaturde kullanilan iki ana oryantasyon moduna, farkindalik (ilgi ve bilgi) duzeyine ve subjektif degerlendirmelere dayali olarak Kurtlerin AB'ye oryantasyonlari (yonelimleri) analiz edilmeye calisilmistir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Kurtler, Avrupa Birligi, AB'ye Oryantasyon, AB-Turkiye Iliskileri