Honors Theses (Global Studies)

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The Department of Global Studies is formerly known as the Department of International Studies.

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The GAP and human rights : Turkey's successes and conflicts with sustainable development in the Kurdish region of Southeast Anatolia
(University of Oregon, 2006-02) Hill, Julia Elizabeth
The Turkish government first presented plans for the Southeast Anatolian Project (GAP by its Turkish acronym) in 1979. The project has built dams and hydroelectric plants on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Southeastern Turkey as a means to increase electricity generation and agricultural productivity. Full-scale civil war between the Turkish government and Kurdish separatists started in 1984, prompting a reevaluation of GAP goals. The GAP has since expanded to include human development projects as an attempt to quell regional violence and transform the poorest and most traditional region of the country into an integral part of the modem Turkish state. This thesis explores how the GAP has affected Kurdish rights in the region, where there is room for improvement in the GAP, and if sustainable development projects such as the GAP can be effective in reducing regional sectarian violence.