Understanding Turkey's Kurdish Question

Contributions by Djene Rhys Bajalan, Oral Çalislar, Fuat Keyman Istanbul Policy Center/Sa, Umut Özkirimli, Cengiz Çandar, Michael M. Gunter, Kilic Bugra Kanat, Hugh Pope, Gökhan Bacik, Bezen B. Coskun, Mustafa Gurbuz, Dogan Koç, H. Akin Ünver, Joshua W. Walker Edited by Fevzi Bilgin, Ali Sarihan

Publication date:

20 June 2013

Length of book:

272 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

Dimensions:

234x158mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780739184028

This edited volume, comprising chapters by leading academics and experts, aims to clarify the complexity of Turkey’s Kurdish question. The Kurdish question is a long-standing, protracted issue, which gained regional and international significance largely in the last thirty years. The Kurdish people who represent the largest ethnic minority in the Middle East without a state have demanded autonomy and recognition since the post-World I wave of self-governance in the region, and their nationalist claims have further intensified since the end of the Cold War. The present volume first describes the evolution of Kurdish nationalism, its genesis during the late nineteenth century in the Ottoman Empire, and its legacy into the new Turkish republic. Second, the volume takes up the violent legacy of Kurdish nationalism and analyzes the conflict through the actions of the PKK, the militant pro-Kurdish organization which grew to be the most important actor in the process. Third, the volume deals with the international dimensions of the Kurdish question, as manifested in Turkey’s evolving relationships with Syria, Iraq, and Iran, the issue regarding the status of the Kurdish minorities in these countries, and the debate over the Kurdish problem in Western capitals.

Chapter 1: Fevzi Bilgin, Introduction
Part I: The Genesis and the Legacy of Kurdish Nationalism
Chapter 2: Djene Rhys Bajalan, Early Kurdish ‘Nationalists’ and the Emergence of Modern Kurdish Identity Politics: 1851 to 1908
Chapter 3: Oral Çalislar, The Kurdish Issue in Turkey: Social, Political, and Cultural Dimensions
Chapter 4: Fuat Keyman and Umut Özkirimli, The “Kurdish Question” Revisited: Modernity, Nationalism, and Citizenship in Turkey
Part 2: The Kurdish Question Today: The movement, the conflict, and the future
Chapter 5: Cengiz Çandar, On Turkey’s Kurdish Question: Its Roots, Present State, and Prospects
Chapter 6: Michael M. Gunter, The Multifaceted Kurdish Movement in Turkey
Chapter 7: Ali Sarihan, The Two Periods of the PKK Conflict: 1984-1999 and 2004-2010
Chapter 8: Kiliç Bugra Kanat, Ending Ceasefires for Political Survival: The Use of Diversionary Strategies by the PKK Leadership
Chapter 9: Hugh Pope, Turkey and the Democratic Opening for the Kurds
Chapter 10: Gökhan Bacik and Bezen B. Coskun, Explaining Turkey’s Failure to Develop a Political Solution for the Kurdish Problem
Part 3: Civil Society Efforts in Turkey’s Kurdish region
Chapter 11: Mustafa Gürbüz, Revitalization of Kurdish Islamic Sphere and Revival of Hizbullah in Turkey
Chapter 12: Dogan Koç, The Hizmet Movement and the Kurdish Region
Part 4: International Dimensions of the Kurdish Question
Chapter 13: H. Akin Ünver, Turkey’s Kurdish Question, the United States and Europe: Historical Perspective
Chapter 14: Joshua W. Walker, International Dimensions of the Kurdish Question in Turkey

Considering the regional and international ramifications of the Kurdish question in the Middle East, the scholarly attention paid to this topic has historically been inadequate and the subject matter remains in need of serious study. It is therefore welcome that Understanding Turkey’s Kurdish Question specifically sets out to examine the country with the largest Kurdish population in the world at a time when it is struggling to come to terms with this reality. This edited, multi-authored volume brings together both established and new scholars as well as veteran Turkish journalists, some of who have written extensively on the topic over the years.