This study focuses on the policy of JDP toward Alevi in Turkey. As weknow, the Alevi issue has become the focus of intense debate in Turkishpolitics and society asthe Alevist recognition movement has developed since the1990s. This marked the coming out of a previously silenced phenomenon andthis process involved both an intensification of debates over religious rights ofindividuals and public reconstruction of Aleviness. These developments havebrought the Alevis much freedom up until now whereas they were notpermitted to enjoy such freedom previously.
In 2007, for the first time in Turkey including the era of the OttomanEmpire, the ruling JDP government undertook a series of steps to respond toAlevi claims, known as the Alevi opening. The objective of the Alevi openingis to reconcile the Turkish state with the Alevis. The Alevi opening is nowunderway to address the Alevis’s claims with JDP’s implementing variouspolitical alternatives. There are many obstacles that prevent the fulfillment ofAlevi claims. In my opinion, there are, however, many potential steps thatwould help eliminate barriers to social and political reconciliation. Legal andpolitical reforms are important for surmounting structural inequalities andpreventing the practices of marginalization.