Examining the ethos of conflict by exploring lay people’s representations of the Kurdish conflict in Turkey

Societies in conflicts develop an ‘ethos of conflict’, a set of socially shared beliefs about the conflict. We argue that the ethos of conflict can be based on different representations of the conflict, and exploring such representations helps to analyze similarities and differences between and within conflict parties. We explored representations of the Kurdish conflict among 45 laypeople in a multi-ethnic city in Turkey based on comprehensive models of conflict analysis using an approach based on Q-methodology, which is suitable for uncovering socially shared viewpoints. Representations of conflict were conceptualized along three domains: causes and issues; relationships between the groups, processes and dynamics; and possible solutions. An integrated analysis across these domains revealed five qualitatively distinct viewpoints toward the conflict. The meaning of these viewpoints, their possible links to the ethos of conflict, differences and commonalities within and between conflict parties, the usefulness of our methodological approach to explore conflict viewpoints, and implications for conflict resolution are discussed.