Addressing epistemic violence and methodological nationalism through a meta-analytical review on intergroup contact and conflict studies in Turkey

Abstract

This paper provides an examination of intergroup contact research in the context of the Turkish-Kurdish ‘conflict’ through a meta-analytical scoping review. By doing so, we discuss how dominant biases in the literature such as methodological nationalism and epistemic violence influence research practices and knowledge-production systems in conflict and contact studies conducted under colonial rule. Through a thematic investigation, we found four variables that were commonly tested in intergroup contact studies: i) attitudes towards outgroup, ii) support for minority rights or multiculturalism, iii) perception of discrimination against the minority group, and iv) ethnic identity. We conducted four meta-analyses using a pool of 28 studies conducted in Turkey to unpack the associations of intergroup contact with: i) outgroup attitudes (r = .42; n = 5,624), ii) support for minority rights and multiculturalism (r = -.06ns; n = 1,567), iii) perception of discrimination against Kurds (r = .22; n = 2,431), and iv) ethnic identity (r = -.13; n = 4,636). The results demonstrated a moderate to strong relationship between intergroup contact and positive outgroup attitudes, while the findings were less robust for support for minority rights, perception of discrimination against Kurds, and ethnic identity. Furthermore, the group status and sample characteristics of the studies moderate the relationships between variables. Based on the findings and a critical analysis of the current literature, we discuss the limitations of the existing research and critical points for future studies.