Additional information
by Fevzi Bilgin (Editor), Ali Sarihan (Editor), Djene Rhys Bajalan (Contribution by)
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.
Author Biography
Fevzi Bilgin is the executive director of the Rethink Institute in Washington, DC. His areas of expertise are constitutional politics, religion and politics, political liberalism, Turkish politics, and Middle Eastern politics. He received Bachelor's Degree from Ankara University and PhD in political science from University of Pittsburgh. He previously taught at Sakarya University and St. Mary's College of Maryland. He has published many articles and essays, including a monograph, Political Liberalism in Muslim Societies and most recently, an edited volume, Resolving Turkey's Kurdish Issue. Ali Sarihan is a doctoral candidate in School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham. He previously received MA degrees in Democracy and Governance at Georgetown University, Department of Government, and Comparative and International Affairs at Indiana University-Bloomington. His studies focus on social movements, revolutions, democratization, and strategic diplomacy tools in the Middle East and North Africa.
