The Political Face of National Identity: Difai

Abstract

It has been remarked that Turkish intellectuals and public have constantly tried to prevent the Armenian terrorism arisen in Caucasia against Azerbeijani Turks. Coming on the scene in the aftermath of these events and adressing to a larger public, Difai Party have gained considerable power soon after its establishment. The methods employed by this party against the violent groups of Armenian terrorits manifest the difference between the two communities in their social structure, social perception and in many other fields. Especially, the fact that the solutions offered by Azerbeijani Turkish intellectuals have an extremely tolerant and intellectual perspective, is of great importance and at the same time it is rather striking. The presence of the party which envisaged negotiations with the terrorists if needed to eliminate the Armenian terrorism, provides an important example in the way of analyzing Turkish-Armenian relations. In this study we will try to present and analyze this party which is not widely known in our country and the reasons leading to its appearance.